Beloved San Francisco Bodega Cat Killed by Waymo Self-Driving Car, Neighbors Say

San Francisco is reeling after the loss of one of its most beloved bodega cats … a community fixture who, according to his owner, was tragically struck and killed by a Waymo self-driving car.

Kitka — the resident feline at Randa’s Market in the Mission District — was reportedly hit by a driverless Waymo late Monday. A local resident told Mission Local he was driving down the street when he saw the Waymo suddenly swerve … and people on the sidewalk started shouting and grabbed the cat as the Waymo drove off.

A 311 city complaint stated KitKat was near the store, sitting on the sidewalk next to the transit lane when he was struck — and the self-driving taxi “did not even try to stop.”

For nearly a decade, Kitka wasn’t just a cat — he was the “Mayor of 16th Street” — and store owner Mike Zeidan says the outpouring of love has been incredibly touching.

Just another reminder that self-driving doesn’t always mean safe driving, something Elon Musk is being reminded of — his car company Tesla offers self-driving options — with folks flooding his X feed by tagging him in KitKat’s heartbreaking story.