Waymo Robotaxi Hits Child Near Elementary School, Prompting NHTSA Investigation

By Elias Schisgall

U.S. regulators are launching an investigation into Waymo after one of the company's robotaxis hit a child during drop-off hours near an elementary school in Santa Monica, Calif.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that the child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV before being struck by the autonomous vehicle, sustaining minor injuries. The incident occurred on Jan. 23.

The vehicle was being operated by Waymo's fifth-generation Automated Driving System without a safety operator present, the NHTSA said.

Waymo, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet, said it would fully cooperate with the NHTSA's investigation in a Wednesday blog post.

The company said the autonomous-driving technology immediately detected the child entering street and engaged the brake, reducing the vehicle's speed to less than 6 miles an hour from about 17 miles an hour before making contact.

"To put this in perspective, our peer-reviewed model shows that a fully attentive human driver in this same situation would have made contact with the pedestrian at approximately 14 mph," Waymo said. "This significant reduction in impact speed and severity is a demonstration of the material safety benefit of the Waymo Driver."

Waymo said it called 911 and reported the incident to the NHTSA following the collision.

The NHTSA said it would investigate whether the robotaxi exercised appropriate caution, especially given the proximity to an elementary school, and how the autonomous-driving system is intended to work within school zones. It said it would also investigate the company's post-impact response.

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 29, 2026 11:58 ET (16:58 GMT)