By Jorge Casuso

January 30, 2026 -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating Waymo's protocols after one of the company's self-driving cars struck a child near Grant Elementary School last Friday.

The incident took place "within two blocks" of the school "during normal school drop off hours" when there were other children, a crossing guard and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity, NHTSA officials said Thursday.

"The child ran across the street from behind a double parked SUV towards the school" and was struck by a Waymo Automated Vehicle operated by the company’s 5th Generation Automated Driving System (ADS).

"No safety operator was present in the vehicle," the agency said. Waymo, which reported the incident, said the child sustained minor injuries.

Waymo officials said they "voluntarily contacted NHTSA that same day" and will "cooperate fully" with the investigation into the incident, which "demonstrates the critical value of our safety systems."

"The event occurred when the pedestrian suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle's path," the company said in a statement on its website Thursday.

"Our technology immediately detected the individual as soon as they began to emerge from behind the stopped vehicle," the statement said. "The Waymo Driver braked hard, reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made.

"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.

"This significant reduction in impact speed and severity is a demonstration of the material safety benefit of the Waymo Driver," said the company, a subsidiary of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc.

NHTSA's investigation will look into whether the Waymo AV "exercised appropriate caution given, among other things, its proximity to the elementary school during drop off hours, and the presence of young pedestrians and other potential vulnerable road users."

The probe, which is being conducted by the agency's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), "will examine the ADS’s intended behavior in school zones and neighboring areas, especially during normal school pick up/drop off times, including but not limited to its adherence to posted speed limits."

ODI will also investigate Waymo's "post-impact response," agency officials said.

According to Waymo officials, "Following contact, the pedestrian stood up immediately, walked to the sidewalk, and we called 911.

"The vehicle remained stopped, moved to the side of the road, and stayed there until law enforcement cleared the vehicle to leave the scene."

Santa Monica Police responded to the incident that took place at around 7:40 a.m. near 24th and Pearl streets, police officials said.

The officers conducted an on-scene investigation, officials said. The incident remains under review.