Waymo Submits Documents to NHTSA in Child Collision Investigation
By Editor • August 21, 2026 • 1 min read
Waymo has begun cooperating with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as part of the agency's investigation into a collision involving its robotaxi in January. This inquiry focuses on an incident in Santa Monica, California, where a 9-year-old girl was struck by one of Waymo's Jaguar I-Pace vehicles.
The accident took place on January 23, when the robotaxi was traveling at 17 miles per hour before decelerating to 6 miles per hour upon encountering the child. Preliminary reports from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicated that the girl sustained minor injuries but did not require medical transport.
As part of the investigation, NHTSA had posed a series of questions to Waymo regarding its operational protocols, particularly concerning speed limits in school zones and the behavior of its robotaxis around educational institutions. The initial set of Waymo's responses was made public on Friday, though the documents were heavily redacted to protect confidential information.
Waymo's senior director of safety, Matthew Schwall, expressed in a letter to NHTSA that the company aims to provide pertinent information while minimizing the burden on both parties. Waymo had initially been given until May 8 to respond to the questions but requested an extension, which was granted for 10 of the 12 inquiries. The company submitted further information on July 8, indicating its commitment to transparency in the ongoing investigation.
Source: techcrunch.com
