An autonomous car driving through the city streets of San Francisco struck and killed a dog last month – but the company that operates the vehicle claims the tragic incident was unavoidable.

US publication TechCrunch reports the autonomous Jaguar I-Pace – also referred to as a ‘self-driving car’ – was operating in San Francisco last month when a dog ran onto the road.

According to the incident report filed with California’s Department of Motor Vehicles, the robotaxi’s autonomous driving systems detected the dog, however neither the vehicle’s on-board systems nor the human ‘safety operator’ in the driver’s seat applied the brakes.

A spokesperson for Waymo – the Google-affiliated company which operates the autonomous Jaguar I-Pace – told TechCrunch the collision was unavoidable, regardless of whether the brakes had been applied or not.