Waymo Autonomous Vehicle Reportedly Struck Child Near Elementary School in Santa Monica, California
- Date of incident
- January 23, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- Santa Monica, California, USA
- Sources
- 3 cited
- Last verified
- May 25, 2026
Summary
A Waymo driverless vehicle reportedly struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California during school drop-off hours. According to filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the child allegedly sustained minor injuries. The vehicle was purportedly operating on Waymo's 5th Generation Automated Driving System without a human safety driver. Waymo reported the incident to federal regulators, who subsequently opened an investigation.
What is reported
A Waymo driverless vehicle reportedly struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California during school drop-off hours. According to filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the child allegedly sustained minor injuries. The vehicle was purportedly operating on Waymo's 5th Generation Automated Driving System without a human safety driver. Waymo reported the incident to federal regulators, who subsequently opened an investigation.
Editorial note
factuality_score=88; 3 warnings; tags accepted as-is from pipeline
Sources
This record summarizes the cited reports. See the sources panel for the underlying URLs and archive copies.
Sources
- 01
- 02
- 03