Waymo robotaxi hits child near Santa Monica elementary school

A self-driving vehicle operated by Waymo struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica on January 23, the company confirmed. In a filing to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Waymo said the child — whose age and identity have not been made public — suffered minor injuries.

Following the incident, the NHTSA has opened an investigation into the crash. Waymo said in a blog post that it “will cooperate fully” with regulators as the review moves forward.

According to the company, the robotaxi was travelling at about 17 miles per hour before braking hard and slowing to roughly 6 miles per hour at impact. Waymo said the child “suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV,” moving directly into the vehicle’s path. The company added that the autonomous system detected the pedestrian as soon as they began to emerge from behind the stopped vehicle.

Waymo stated that after the collision, the child immediately stood up and walked to the sidewalk. The company said it contacted emergency services by calling 911, while the robotaxi remained stopped at the scene. The vehicle then pulled over to the side of the road and stayed there until law enforcement officials cleared it to leave.

The incident comes as Waymo is already facing increased scrutiny over the operation of its robotaxi fleet. The company is currently the subject of two separate investigations related to allegations that its autonomous vehicles illegally passed stopped school buses. The NHTSA opened a probe into those incidents in October, shortly after an initial report involving a Waymo vehicle in Atlanta, Georgia. More recently, the National Transportation Safety Board launched its own investigation after approximately 20 similar incidents were reported in Austin, Texas.

This story is still developing and may be updated as more information becomes available.