Waymo — NHTSA Opens Investigation After Driverless Vehicle Strikes Child Near Santa Monica School

Summary

During morning drop-off, within two blocks of a Santa Monica elementary school, a child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV and was struck by a driverless Waymo vehicle operating on its fifth-generation automated driving system, with no safety operator aboard. Waymo reported minor injuries and said the vehicle braked from about 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact. NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE26-001, covering an estimated 3,067 vehicles, to examine whether the vehicle exercised appropriate caution near a school at drop-off time, including speed-limit adherence and post-impact response. The NTSB said it would also investigate.

Consequence

• NHTSA opened Preliminary Evaluation PE26-001 into Waymo's automated driving system.
• The NTSB said it would also investigate the collision.

Who caught it Internal monitoring, A regulator

Key dates

1. January 23, 2026Event
2. October 16, 2026Checked against sources
3. October 21, 2026Checked against sources

Developments are added when the record is reviewed. Next review: January 15, 2027.

Evidence

Each passage is quoted from its source. The quoted passages are re-checked against the live pages every month.

1. On January 23, 2026, Waymo LCC (Waymo) reported to the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) that a Waymo Automated Vehicle (AV) had struck a child near an elementary school earlier that day.

   Supports: Date, party, victim, location type

   the child ran across the street from behind a double parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Waymo AV. Waymo reported that the child sustained minor injuries.

   Supports: How the collision happened; minor injuries

   ODI has opened this Preliminary Evaluation to investigate whether the Waymo AV exercised appropriate caution given, among other things, its proximity to the elementary school during drop off hours

   Supports: Investigation opened and its scope

   3,067 (Estimated)

   Supports: Population covered by the investigation

   ODI Resume, Investigation PE26001 NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Primary source

2. braking hard and reducing speed from approximately 17 miles per hour (27 kilometres per hour) to under 6mph (10km/h) before contact was made.

   Supports: Speed before braking and at contact (Waymo's account)

   The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also said it will investigate the incident.

   Supports: Parallel NTSB investigation

   US opens probe after a Waymo self-driving car hit a child near a school Al Jazeera (Reuters) Reporting or analysis