US opens probe after a Waymo self-driving car hit a child near a school

The child was struck by a Waymo during normal school drop-off hours.Published On 29 Jan 2026The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it is opening an investigation after a Waymo self-driving vehicle struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, last week, causing minor injuries and renewing concerns about the safety of robotaxis.The car safety agency said on Thursday that the child ran across the street on January 23 from behind a double-parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Alphabet-unit Waymo autonomous vehicle during normal school drop-off hours. The agency said there were other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trump says that he will allow reopening of Venezuelan airspacelist 2 of 4TotalEnergies restarts $20bn LNG project in Mozambique after 5-year freezelist 3 of 4‘Melania’: What to know about the US first lady’s new documentarylist 4 of 4Microsoft stock plunges as Wall Street questions AI investmentsend of listThe incident comes as robotaxis are being deployed in rising numbers across the country. The US Senate Commerce Committee had already scheduled a hearing on self-driving cars for February 4, which will include Waymo Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Pena.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also said it will investigate the incident.Waymo said in a blog post on Thursday that it will cooperate in the investigation and said the child “suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle’s path”.It added that the self-driving vehicle immediately detected the individual as soon as the child emerged from behind the stopped vehicle, braking hard and reducing speed from approximately 17 miles per hour (27 kilometres per hour) to under 6mph (10km/h) before contact was made.NHTSA is opening a preliminary evaluation to investigate whether the Waymo AV exercised appropriate caution given its proximity to the elementary school during drop-off hours, and the presence of young pedestrians and other potential vulnerable road users.