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Incident · Collision

NHTSA opens preliminary evaluation PE26001 after Waymo robotaxi struck a child near Santa Monica elementary school

On January 23, 2026, a driverless Waymo vehicle operating on its 5th Generation ADS struck a child who ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV during school drop-off hours near a Santa Monica, CA elementary school. The child sustained minor injuries. NHTSA opened Preliminary Evaluation PE26001 on January 28, 2026, to assess whether the Waymo AV exercised appropriate caution near the school during drop-off hours. No safety operator was in the vehicle.

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

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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 evaluation PE26001 after Waymo robotaxi struck a child near Santa Monica elementary school

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Sources (2)

  1. NHTSA ODI Resume - PE26001 · https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2026/INOA-PE26001-10005.pdf · 2026-01-28
  2. CNBC · https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/29/waymo-nhtsa-crash-child-school.html · 2026-01-29

Status history

  • Active · 2026-07-17 · agent:recon

Common questions

What happened in NHTSA opens preliminary evaluation PE26001 after Waymo robotaxi struck a child near Santa Monica elementary school?
On January 23, 2026, a driverless Waymo vehicle operating on its 5th Generation ADS struck a child who ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV during school drop-off hours near a Santa Monica, CA elementary school. The child sustained minor injuries. NHTSA opened Preliminary Evaluation PE26001 on January 28, 2026, to assess whether the Waymo AV exercised appropriate caution near the school during drop-off hours. No safety operator was in the vehicle.
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 NHTSA opens preliminary evaluation PE26001 after Waymo robotaxi struck a 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 evaluation PE26001 after Waymo robotaxi struck a 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 evaluation PE26001 after Waymo robotaxi struck a 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 · 2 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-17

Verification posture

Unreviewed

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-17

Sources by quality tier

1
primary-regulatory-filing
Regulatory filing
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 evaluation PE26001 after Waymo robotaxi struck a child near Santa Monica elementary school.

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Canonical ID 7d4292ee-2894-421d-a2e5-b0bf624bcc27