When did this incident occur?

The incident is recorded as occurring on January 23, 2026 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.

Incident · Collision

Waymo robotaxi struck a 9-year-old child near Santa Monica elementary school

A Waymo driverless vehicle operating on its 5th Generation Automated Driving System struck a 9-year-old child pedestrian near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, during school drop-off hours. The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV and was struck by the Waymo AV, sustaining minor injuries. NHTSA opened a preliminary evaluation (PE26001) to assess whether the Waymo AV exercised appropriate caution given its proximity to the school during drop-off hours.

Occurred 2026-01-23 · Waymo · Investigated by NHTSA

How to read this record

Incident records on DEPLOY are compiled from public sources (regulatory filings, news reports, and operator disclosures) and reflect what has been reported and tracked to date. They are not legal findings, determinations of fault, or safety ratings, and may be updated as new information is verified. See the sources below for the underlying references.

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Markdown mirror: /incidents/waymo-child-collision-santa-monica-2026-01-23.md
JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
REST API: /v1/incidents/86ce2764-5e64-4e3f-926f-bac5cb47341a
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Sources (1)

CNBC · https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/29/waymo-nhtsa-crash-child-school.html · 2026-01-29

Status history

Active · 2026-07-15 · agent:recon

Common questions

What happened in Waymo robotaxi struck a 9-year-old child near Santa Monica elementary school?: A Waymo driverless vehicle operating on its 5th Generation Automated Driving System struck a 9-year-old child pedestrian near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California, during school drop-off hours. The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV and was struck by the Waymo AV, sustaining minor injuries. NHTSA opened a preliminary evaluation (PE26001) to assess whether the Waymo AV exercised appropriate caution given its proximity to the school during drop-off hours.
When did this incident occur?: The incident is recorded as occurring on January 23, 2026 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
Who was involved in Waymo robotaxi struck a 9-year-old child near Santa Monica elementary school?: The incident is recorded as involving Waymo on the DEPLOY registry. No specific robot model is linked to this incident in the registry.
Has anyone responded to Waymo robotaxi struck a 9-year-old child near Santa Monica elementary school?: No responses to this incident are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Operators, manufacturers, or affected parties can submit responses to the editorial team; absence is not a guarantee no response was issued.
What is the current status of Waymo robotaxi struck a 9-year-old child near Santa Monica elementary school?: This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.

Methodology: Unreviewed · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-15

Verification posture

Unreviewed

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-15

Sources by quality tier

1: secondary-established-publication; Established publication

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

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Canonical ID 86ce2764-5e64-4e3f-926f-bac5cb47341a