Elliot Slade thought the ride from San Mateo to San Francisco’s Mission District would be routine. He and his fiancée settled into the back of the white Waymo robotaxi last month. Then the vehicle tried to merge. It couldn’t. A remote operator appeared on the in-car screen. Moments later the car blasted through traffic cones. It accelerated hard. Highway speeds in a construction zone. Police sirens blared behind them. Slade grabbed his phone and started recording. “We’re done,” he said, looking at his fiancée. “This is it. We’re dead. We’re going to die right here in the Waymo.” The May 19 incident, first shared on X by Slade under the handle @Elliot_slade, triggered an immediate response from the company. Futurism reported that Waymo suspended all freeway operations across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Miami. The move affected thousands of rides. Executives described it as an opportunity to integrate recent technical learnings into the software.…