A Waymo robo-taxi hits a child near a school, causing minor injuries

A Waymo robo-taxi struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, on January 23, causing minor injuries and prompting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to take urgent action. Open an investigation.

The incident occurred during normal school drop-off hours, with other children, a crossing guard and several vehicles parked in the vicinity, NHTSA said. The child ran across the street from behind a parked SUV toward the school and was struck by a Waymo vehicle.

In a blog postWaymo said its car was traveling at 17 mph when its autonomous system detected the child and then “braked hard,” reducing its speed to 6 mph before “making contact.” “The child immediately stopped and walked to the sidewalk,” Waymo said and called 911. “The vehicle moved to the side of the road, and remained there until law enforcement cleared the vehicle from the scene,” she added.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defect Investigation said it would examine whether “appropriate care was exercised given, among other things, its proximity to the elementary school during drop-off hours, and the presence of young pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.” The office will also look into Waymo’s “intended conduct in school zones and surrounding areas, particularly during regular school pick-up/drop-off times, including but not limited to, its adherence to posted speed limits.”

Waymo claims that its autonomous system’s response likely prevented more serious injuries to the child. Citing its own model, it said that “a fully attentive human driver in the same situation would have contacted the pedestrian at about 14 mph. This significant reduction in collision speed and severity is evidence of the physical safety benefit to the Waymo driver.”

The crash comes after the National Transportation Safety Board said it would open its own investigation into the crashes A Waymo robotaxi drives in front of school buses Participates in student pickup and drop-off operations in Austin, Texas. Waymo issued a safety recall in December 2025 that was intended to address this issue, but additional incidents were subsequently reported.