You expect a delivery robot to roll up with your food, not to smash through a glass bus shelter like it’s in a low-budget action scene. But that’s what happened in Chicago twice in the same week, as two robots did not get the memo.
Two crashes, two robots
The first incident went down in West Town. A delivery robot operated by Serve Robotics rolled toward a CTA bus stop and didn’t stop. It slammed straight into the glass panel, sending shards onto the sidewalk and onto itself before coming to a halt. The machine reportedly named “Nasir” came to a stop in the wreckage. A tragic end for Nasir, whose only crime was presumably thinking the bus shelter was a mirage—or an invitation.
Then, just two days later, it happened again. Another robot – this one from Coco Robotics – crashed into a separate bus shelter in Old Town, breaking through another glass panel.
Thankfully, no one was hurt in either incident. Both companies came out to say they’re cleaning up the mess and investigating. Coco even called it a “rare, isolated event,” noting its robots have logged over a million miles of deliveries.
The internet and locals are not convinced
Locals are already calling it what it looks like: a safety hazard. People around the two crashes described hearing the noise, seeing robots bump into things, and in some cases, running into pedestrians. For one resident, it is starting to feel like “an accident waiting to happen.”
There’s even a growing petition to pause the city’s delivery robot pilot program entirely. And city officials are aware of what is happening. Mayor Brandon Johnson has already acknowledged the incidents, emphasizing that they are part of a pilot program meant to test performance and identify issues.
These robots are everywhere now
Delivery bots aren’t new to Chicago. Coco has been operating there since late 2024. Serve Robotics joined in 2025 as part of a city-approved pilot program designed to test how these machines perform in real-world conditions.
So, locals see them on sidewalks, crossing streets, weaving around pedestrians like it’s completely normal. And sometimes, it is. Until things go wrong.
There was also a similar incident in East Hollywood, California, where a resident found a Coco delivery robot tangled in her garden. The robot had torn through her fence and uprooted her plants before it kept moving, dragging debris behind it.
While she chased after the robot in the street, trying to stop it, the robot just kept going and did not respond.
The real tension here
Robots have been making the headlines for one mishap or the other lately. In March alone, a humanoid robot hit a child during a demo, another kicked its handler, one startled an elderly woman badly enough for authorities to step in, and a restaurant robot went off-script and started knocking cutlery and sauce over.
At first, these clips feel funny and they make hilarious viral moments. But the tone is starting to get serious. And the mistakes made by the robots aren’t the issue as much as the risk they pose to the public.
The companies might say that these incidents are rare, but that is not exactly reassuring given how frequently we’re seeing them happen.
Sources: Fox Business, NY Post