Peterbilt 579 Epiq Incident

On September [XXX], 2022 at 4:03 AM PST a Waymo Autonomous Vehicle (Waymo AV) Peterbilt Class 8 semi-truck and trailer, operating in Hunstville, Texas was in a collision involving a loose tire on southbound [XXX] near the [XXX]. The Waymo AV was in autonomous mode and in the rightmost lane approaching a slow-moving pickup truck traveling behind a slow-moving box truck, when the Waymo AV test driver transitioned to manual mode. The Waymo AV test driver then made a left lane change to pass the two vehicles. As the Waymo AV passed the pick-up truck and box truck, a loose wheel (including attached tire) appeared from behind the box truck rolling toward the Waymo AVs lane. The wheel/tire made contact with the passenger right side rear corner of the Waymo AVs trailer. At the time of the impact, the Waymo AVs Level 4 ADS was not engaged and a test driver was operating the Waymo AV in manual mode. The Waymo AVs trailer sustained damage. Waymo is reporting this crash under Request No. 2 of Standing General Order 2021-01. Waymo may supplement or correct its reporting with additional information as it may become available.