The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating a January 23 crash between a Waymo autonomous vehicle and a child near a Santa Monica elementary school, the agency said.
The NTSB is coordinating with the Santa Monica Police Department on the investigation.
The agency did not provide additional details about the circumstances of the crash or the condition of the pedestrian involved.
The incident occurred during school drop-off hours when the Waymo robotaxi struck a child who was running across the street toward the school, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
There were other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity at the time.
“Part of that commitment is being transparent when incidents occur, which is why we are sharing details regarding an event in Santa Monica, California, on Friday, January 23, where one of our vehicles made contact with a young pedestrian,” Waymo said in a new post on its blog.
The company claims that its peer-reviewed model indicates that a human driver in a similar scenario would have hit the kid at “approximately 14 mph.”
“To put this in perspective, our peer-reviewed model shows that a fully attentive human driver in this same situation would have made contact with the pedestrian at approximately 14 mph,” Waymo said.
“This significant reduction in impact speed and severity is a demonstration of the material safety benefit of the Waymo Driver,” the company added.
The NHTSA said it plans to examine how the vehicle was programmed to operate in school zones and surrounding areas during pick-up and drop-off hours, including whether it adhered to posted speed limits.
The agency will also review Waymo‘s response following the collision.
Waymo added that the vehicle “braked hard, reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made.”
Previous Incident
The investigation comes weeks after a Waymo robotaxi became trapped on light rail tracks in Phoenix, forcing a passenger to exit the vehicle before an approaching train struck the autonomous car.
Video of the January incident, first shared on TikTok, shows the passenger leaving the driverless vehicle and safely crossing the road as a Valley Metro train approached.
The Waymo, with hazard lights engaged, traveled alongside the tracks for approximately 30 meters before coming to a stop while obstructing the rail line. The vehicle subsequently engaged its reverse mode while the light rail operator stopped the train.
No injuries were reported in the Phoenix incident.
