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A Waymo robotaxi struck 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 \u2014 whose age is not known \u2014 sustained minor injuries.<\/p>\n
The NHTSA has opened an investigation<\/a> into the accident, and Waymo said in a blog post<\/a> that it \u201cwill cooperate fully with them throughout the process.\u201d<\/p>\n Waymo said its robotaxi struck the child at 6 miles per hour, after braking \u201chard\u201d from around 17 miles per hour. The young pedestrian \u201csuddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle\u2019s path,\u201d the company said in its blog post. Waymo said its vehicle \u201cimmediately detected the individual as soon as they began to emerge from behind the stopped vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing 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,\u201d Waymo wrote in the post.<\/p>\n News of the crash comes as Waymo faces dual investigations into its robotaxis illegally passing school buses. NHTSA opened a probe<\/a> into the problem in October shortly after the first report of the incident in Atlanta, Georgia, and the National Transportation Safety Board opened its own investigation<\/a> last week after around 20 incidents were reported in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n