San Francisco coach challenges Waymo after driverless car allegedly vanishes with his equipment
Pranjal Chandra | Apr 28, 2025, 19:55 IST
( Image credit : Reuters, TOIGLOBAL )
San Francisco tennis coach Dan Linley is suing Waymo after a driverless taxi drove off with his valuable tennis gear. Despite contacting customer support, Linley watched helplessly as the car departed, leaving him without his equipment and income. Frustrated by the lack of resolution, he filed a lawsuit, raising concerns about the reliability and accountability of autonomous vehicle technology.
In a modern city increasingly embracing autonomous vehicles, one San Francisco tennis coach is questioning whether technology is ready to handle the human details. Dan Linley, a longtime local coach, claims a Waymo driverless taxi made off with his valuable tennis gear and after two months of appeals, he is now taking legal action.
Linley, who lives in Lower Nob Hill, has built his livelihood over three decades coaching high school students and private clients across San Francisco. Without a personal car, he, like many city residents, turned to Waymo’s autonomous taxi service for daily transportation. But an otherwise routine ride on February 7 ended in frustration and a financial nightmare.
That evening, Linley was dropped off at Golden Gate Park, expecting to retrieve his equipment from the car’s trunk. Yet the trunk didn’t open automatically as Waymo’s service manual promises. Nor did the Waymo app offer the usual trunk-release option. Linley immediately contacted customer support, where an agent tried to help but as Linley spoke with the representative, he watched helplessly as the driverless car pulled away, his equipment still inside.
"I told the guy on the phone, ‘The car is driving away with my stuff,’" Linley recalled. "He stayed calm and filed a lost-and-found report, but honestly, what else could he do? The car was already gone."
Visible through the rear window were Linley's essential tools of his trade: a duffel bag full of tennis balls, a portable teaching cart, ball hoppers, his personal racket, and other costly items. The total loss, he estimates, extends beyond the equipment's price tag — it has sidelined him from giving lessons, costing him critical income at one of the busiest times of the year.
While Waymo insists it is working to resolve the issue, Linley says little progress has been made. Frustrated by months of unreturned calls and emails, he filed a small claims lawsuit against the company this week, seeking $12,500 for the lost gear and lost earnings.
"They keep saying they're investigating," Linley said. "What is there to investigate? It’s not a whodunnit. I didn’t lose the equipment. Their car took it."
Waymo declined a formal interview but provided a statement emphasizing that their support teams strive to reunite passengers with their belongings. “Waymo is in touch with the individual and working to resolve the claim,” a spokesperson said.
But Linley bristles at the characterization of the incident as a case of “forgotten” items. "They weren't forgotten," he insisted. "They were trapped in the vehicle."
Beyond his personal loss, Linley’s experience raises larger concerns about the real-world reliability of driverless technology. If a basic function like securing passenger belongings can malfunction and leave a customer scrambling for months it calls into question whether companies like Waymo are fully prepared for unsupervised operations.
Linley also points out the lack of immediate human accountability. In a traditional taxi, a driver would likely notice luggage left behind. In a driverless car, responsibility shifts to distant customer support agents who have limited control once the car is on the move.
"This whole experience has made me rethink trusting these cars," Linley admitted. "They're amazing until something goes wrong. Then you're basically on your own."
For now, he has a simple warning for others relying on autonomous rides: “Don’t put anything in the trunk. Keep it with you in the back seat.”
As the legal case unfolds, it may set a precedent for how much responsibility companies like Waymo bear when the technology they tout leaves passengers in a lurch quite literally.
Linley, who lives in Lower Nob Hill, has built his livelihood over three decades coaching high school students and private clients across San Francisco. Without a personal car, he, like many city residents, turned to Waymo’s autonomous taxi service for daily transportation. But an otherwise routine ride on February 7 ended in frustration and a financial nightmare.
That evening, Linley was dropped off at Golden Gate Park, expecting to retrieve his equipment from the car’s trunk. Yet the trunk didn’t open automatically as Waymo’s service manual promises. Nor did the Waymo app offer the usual trunk-release option. Linley immediately contacted customer support, where an agent tried to help but as Linley spoke with the representative, he watched helplessly as the driverless car pulled away, his equipment still inside.
"I told the guy on the phone, ‘The car is driving away with my stuff,’" Linley recalled. "He stayed calm and filed a lost-and-found report, but honestly, what else could he do? The car was already gone."
Visible through the rear window were Linley's essential tools of his trade: a duffel bag full of tennis balls, a portable teaching cart, ball hoppers, his personal racket, and other costly items. The total loss, he estimates, extends beyond the equipment's price tag — it has sidelined him from giving lessons, costing him critical income at one of the busiest times of the year.
While Waymo insists it is working to resolve the issue, Linley says little progress has been made. Frustrated by months of unreturned calls and emails, he filed a small claims lawsuit against the company this week, seeking $12,500 for the lost gear and lost earnings.
"They keep saying they're investigating," Linley said. "What is there to investigate? It’s not a whodunnit. I didn’t lose the equipment. Their car took it."
Waymo declined a formal interview but provided a statement emphasizing that their support teams strive to reunite passengers with their belongings. “Waymo is in touch with the individual and working to resolve the claim,” a spokesperson said.
But Linley bristles at the characterization of the incident as a case of “forgotten” items. "They weren't forgotten," he insisted. "They were trapped in the vehicle."
Beyond his personal loss, Linley’s experience raises larger concerns about the real-world reliability of driverless technology. If a basic function like securing passenger belongings can malfunction and leave a customer scrambling for months it calls into question whether companies like Waymo are fully prepared for unsupervised operations.
Linley also points out the lack of immediate human accountability. In a traditional taxi, a driver would likely notice luggage left behind. In a driverless car, responsibility shifts to distant customer support agents who have limited control once the car is on the move.
"This whole experience has made me rethink trusting these cars," Linley admitted. "They're amazing until something goes wrong. Then you're basically on your own."
For now, he has a simple warning for others relying on autonomous rides: “Don’t put anything in the trunk. Keep it with you in the back seat.”
As the legal case unfolds, it may set a precedent for how much responsibility companies like Waymo bear when the technology they tout leaves passengers in a lurch quite literally.