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Retracted · 2026-07-24

Duplicate ingestion of the same event as waymo-child-struck-santa-monica-jan-2026, the canonical record for "Waymo Santa Monica child-struck (Jan 2026)". This duplicate is retracted to suppress it from aggregates; its own URL stays index,follow per the retraction fairness policy.

Incident · Regulatory action · Retracted

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

Original claim shown above is no longer asserted. See the retraction notice for context.

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 Driver (6th gen) at Sacramento, California, USA · Waymo · Sacramento, California, USA · Robotaxis

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

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Sources (1)

  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

  • Retracted · 2026-07-24

    Duplicate ingestion of the same event as waymo-child-struck-santa-monica-jan-2026, the canonical record for "Waymo Santa Monica child-struck (Jan 2026)". This duplicate is retracted to suppress it from aggregates; its own URL stays index,follow per the retraction fairness policy.

  • 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. This incident was later retracted; see the retraction banner at the top of the page for the correction.
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.
What robot was involved in NHTSA opens preliminary investigation after Waymo robotaxi strikes child near Santa Monica elementary school?
Waymo Driver (6th gen) by Waymo is the recorded robot involved in this incident at Sacramento, California, USA.
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 retracted on the DEPLOY registry. The page remains so the correction reaches readers, but the incident is suppressed from aggregate counts (company / model / location) so it no longer counts against anyone.
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-09

Verification posture

Verified

Medium confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-09

Sources by quality tier

1
secondary-established-publication
Established publication

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

Methodology surface for NHTSA opens preliminary investigation after Waymo robotaxi strikes child near Santa Monica elementary school.

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