Uber Eats delivery robot stuck on track loses high-speed stand-off with train in Miami

A delivery robot’s evening run came to a smashing end in Miami, Florida, when the autonomous device stalled on a railroad track and was promptly crushed by a passing train.

The incident, which happened late on Jan 15, was captured on video by Mr Guillermo Dapelo. The clip has since been viewed more than three million times on an X account.

Mr Dapelo said he noticed the small robot – owned by Coco Robotics – sitting squarely in harm’s way.

The footage shows the machine remaining motionless as a train approaches at full speed.

“Oh, it’s gonna crash it,” Mr Dapelo says on the recording moments before the train barrels through and reduces the robot to scrap.

Mr Dapelo told Storyful that the robot appeared to be stuck on the tracks for about 15 minutes.

He said an Uber Eats delivery driver nearby had contacted Coco Robotics to report the situation. Before any intervention could take place, however, the train arrived – and the video captured what followed.

Coco Robotics, which partners with food delivery platforms, including Uber Eats and DoorDash, confirmed that the robot was not actively making a delivery at the time.

In a statement provided to People magazine by Mr Carl Hansen, the company’s vice-president and head of government relations, Coco said the robot experienced a “rare hardware failure” while en route.

“Safety is always our top priority,” he said, noting that the robots travel at pedestrian speeds, yield to people and are monitored in real time by human safety pilots.

He added that Coco’s robots have operated in Miami for more than a year and have crossed the same tracks multiple times daily without incident.

“This was an unfortunate and extremely rare occurrence,” Mr Hansen said. “We’re grateful it was a Coco robot and not a vehicle.”

The short video underscores a broader challenge facing cities as delivery robots become more common: Automated machines are not always well-equipped for the unpredictability of urban infrastructure.

Railroad crossings, in particular, allow little margin for error. Trains cannot stop quickly, and experts say even with emergency braking, a train travelling at speed may need more than 1km to come to a halt.

Delivery robots are designed to follow mapped routes and avoid obstacles, but mechanical failures or misread signals can leave them stranded, sometimes in the worst possible place.

While no one was injured in this incident, rail safety officials warn that anything left on active tracks, whether a car, debris or a robot the size of a suitcase, can endanger train crews and surrounding communities.

Commenters naturally found humour in the incident.

“They ordered Smashburger. The delivery, although a little late, went on as usual,” said one.