Waymo robotaxi strikes child near Santa Monica elementary school

What happened

At about 8:30 a.m. on January 23, 2026, an unoccupied Waymo robotaxi had just dropped off a passenger on Pearl Street in front of an elementary school in Santa Monica, California. It turned left onto 24th Street and headed north. On the southbound side, five vehicles were queued during school drop-off.

According to the NTSB’s preliminary information, a 9-year-old student got out of the right rear door of the fifth vehicle in the queue and crossed mid-block at a rapid pace, passing between that vehicle and a Chevrolet Suburban stopped ahead of it. The Waymo, traveling 17 mph, braked and struck the child near its front-right headlight. Waymo said its vehicle braked hard and slowed to about 6 mph before contact.

The child fell, then walked to the curb. She reported minor injuries and did not need medical transport. The NTSB said the location was about 40 feet north of the end of a 15 mph school zone and within a 25 mph school zone. A Waymo remote assistance agent called 911 and later directed the vehicle to the curb, where it stayed until Santa Monica police arrived.

The system involved

The vehicle was a 2024 Jaguar I-Pace operated by Waymo with its 5th Generation Automated Driving System and no safety operator. Waymo’s remote assistance staff can communicate with vehicles and emergency services after an incident; in this case the agent was located in Novi, Michigan, according to the NTSB.

Investigation and response

Waymo notified NHTSA on the day of the crash and filed its Standing General Order report on January 28, 2026. That day NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE26001. The agency said other children, a crossing guard and several double-parked vehicles were nearby, and that it would examine whether the vehicle exercised appropriate caution given its proximity to the school during drop-off hours, the system’s intended behavior in and around school zones including adherence to posted speed limits, and Waymo’s post-impact response.

The NTSB opened its own investigation, HWY26FH008, with the Santa Monica Police Department and Waymo as parties, and released preliminary information on March 3, 2026. Waymo said the child suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV and cited its own modeling that an attentive human driver would have struck the child at about 14 mph, NBC Los Angeles reported.

What is not established

Neither investigation had published findings in the sources opened for this entry. NBC Los Angeles reported that the student was not injured, while NHTSA and the NTSB say the child reported minor injuries; the federal records are used here. Waymo’s comparison with a human driver is the company’s own analysis.