diff --git a/planning/behavior_velocity_planner/include/utilization/trajectory_utils.hpp b/planning/behavior_velocity_planner/include/utilization/trajectory_utils.hpp
index 761a5e8c1f987..93b3d9c3d9617 100644
--- a/planning/behavior_velocity_planner/include/utilization/trajectory_utils.hpp
+++ b/planning/behavior_velocity_planner/include/utilization/trajectory_utils.hpp
@@ -166,6 +166,9 @@ inline bool smoothPath(
   // Resample trajectory with ego-velocity based interval distances
   auto traj_resampled = smoother->resampleTrajectory(traj_with_ego_point_on_path, v0, nearest_idx);
   const auto traj_resampled_closest = findNearestIndex(*traj_resampled, current_pose, max, M_PI_4);
+  if (!traj_resampled_closest) {
+    return false;
+  }
   std::vector<TrajectoryPoints> debug_trajectories;
   // Clip trajectory from closest point
   TrajectoryPoints clipped;