Lexus RX 450h Incident

Subject vehicle was on a testing mission in Mountain View, CA. The vehicle was traveling North-bound on [XXX] operated by the vehicle's Level 4 Automated Driving System and supervised by a safety driver in the driver's designated seating position, and with a safety operator in the front passenger seating position. Subject vehicle approached a red light to make a right turn East-bound onto [XXX]. The safety operator suggested that the safety driver disengage the ADS and make the turn in manual mode because the vehicle was hesitant in approaching the intersection. The safety driver disengaged the ADS, and, approximately 250ms later, subject vehicle was lightly struck from behind by a white Mazda3. Having seen debris on the roadway, the driver and operator believed they had run over a rock and did not realize they were hit by the vehicle. After concluding the mission, the driver and operator found damage to a sensor during an inspection. A subsequent review of video led to discovery of the crash. No injuries were reported, and law enforcement was not called to the scene. In addition to telematics and video, we also have photographs of the vehicle's damaged sensor.