When did this incident occur?

The incident is recorded as occurring on January 29, 2026 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.

Incident · Regulatory action

NHTSA opens preliminary investigation after Waymo robotaxi strikes child near Santa Monica elementary school

NHTSA opened a preliminary evaluation (PE26001) after a Waymo autonomous vehicle struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California on January 23, 2026. The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV during school drop-off hours and was struck by the Waymo AV, sustaining minor injuries. NTSB is also investigating. Waymo says the vehicle detected the child and braked from 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact.

Occurred 2026-01-29 · 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.

Track NHTSA opens preliminary investigation after Waymo robotaxi strikes child near Santa Monica elementary school

Machine-readable surfaces

Markdown mirror: /incidents/waymo-child-struck-nhtsa-investigation-2026-01.md
JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
REST API: /v1/incidents/4e4d1778-97b6-4db6-a8a5-fa0d9817a06b
Data documentation: /data
Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP

Sources (1)

Reuters · https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-opens-probe-after-waymo-self-driving-vehicle-strikes-child-near-school-2026-01-29/

Status history

Active · 2026-07-22 · agent:recon

Common questions

What happened in NHTSA opens preliminary investigation after Waymo robotaxi strikes child near Santa Monica elementary school?: NHTSA opened a preliminary evaluation (PE26001) after a Waymo autonomous vehicle struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California on January 23, 2026. The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV during school drop-off hours and was struck by the Waymo AV, sustaining minor injuries. NTSB is also investigating. Waymo says the vehicle detected the child and braked from 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact.
When did this incident occur?: The incident is recorded as occurring on January 29, 2026 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
Who was involved in NHTSA opens preliminary investigation after Waymo robotaxi strikes 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 NHTSA opens preliminary investigation after Waymo robotaxi strikes 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 NHTSA opens preliminary investigation after Waymo robotaxi strikes 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 2026-07-22

Verification posture

Unreviewed

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-22

Sources by quality tier

1: secondary-established-publication; Established publication

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

Deploy Watch

Track this incident.

We notify you when the regulator updates the record, the remedy status changes, or a related incident surfaces.

Canonical ID 4e4d1778-97b6-4db6-a8a5-fa0d9817a06b