A self-driving car in Texas has hit and killed a mother duck, sparking outrage in the community

The death of a duck in the Austin, Texas enclave of Mueller Lake has neighbors expressing concern about autonomous vehicles and whether they are there.

Although humans are responsible for killing animals and cars all the time, this event has brought negative thoughts to modern technology. Local media picked up on the incident after a resident posted on Mueller’s neighborhood Facebook group that the Avride autonomous vehicle (with a public safety operator behind the wheel) hit and killed a duck, and wouldn’t stop after that. “There was no delay or hesitation at all, it just passed,” the post, itself KXAN reported, they read.

The familiarity of this duck, which nested in a pot outside a local Italian restaurant, has fueled anger and mistrust of autonomous vehicle technology. For those interested in the future of duck eggs, the community has them in the incubator, Axios’ Austin. reports.

An Avride spokesperson confirmed with TechCrunch that the car was autonomous at the time. Avride never stopped testing on public roads. However, the company has changed its operations by excluding some roads around the lake where the accident occurred, according to spokeswoman Yulia Shveyko.

The person also said in their letter that the car failed to stop at the stop. Avride told TechCrunch that it has not found any evidence to support its claims. The car finally came to a proper stop at all the stop signs.

Shveyko said the team reviewed a lot of the cars and systems, including repeating the event several times for comparison. Avride is now evaluating potential changes to the technology to help prevent future incidents, he said. In particular, this includes testing a series of tests to ensure that any changes do not compromise the safety of the vehicle in certain situations.

Avride is not the only company that tests or sells autonomous vehicles in the city. Zoox has been experimenting in the city. Tesla and Waymo, in partnership with Uber, also use commercial robots in Austin neighborhoods.