Waymo’s robotaxi attacked a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica on January 23, according to the company. Waymo told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that the child — whose age was not released — suffered minor injuries.
NHTSA has opened it investigated to the accident, and Waymo said in post a blog who “will work with them throughout the process.”
Waymo said its robotaxi struck a child at 6 miles per hour, after braking “hard” from around 17 miles per hour. A young pedestrian “suddenly entered the road from behind a tall SUV, directly into the path of our vehicle,” the company said in a blog post. Waymo said the vehicle “immediately detected the individual after emerging from behind the stopped vehicle.”
“Upon contact, the pedestrian immediately stood up, walked onto the sidewalk, and we called 911. The vehicle remained stopped, moved to the side of the road, and remained there until law enforcement cleared the vehicle to leave the scene,” Waymo wrote in the post.
News of the crash comes as Waymo faces a dual investigation into illegal robotaxis over school buses. NHTSA opened a probe to the problem in October shortly after the first report of the incident in Atlanta, Georgia, and the National Transportation Safety Board revealed itself. investigated last week after around 20 incidents were reported in Austin, Texas.
This story develops…