Waymo SAYS one of its robotaxis hit a child, who sustained minor injuries. The incident occurred in Santa Monica, California, on January 23. The company reported it to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has opened an investigation.

The agency said the incident happened near a school during regular drop-off hours, with other children and a crossing guard nearby. The child ran from behind a double-parked SUV into the path of a Waymo Driver. Waymo said its vehicle detected the child as soon as they exited and that the robotaxi braked hard to reduce its speed from 17 mph to less than 6 mph at the time of impact.

Waymo said that the boy immediately stood up and moved to the sidewalk. The company contacted emergency services and the vehicle remained parked on the side of the road until law enforcement allowed it to leave.

NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation will investigate whether the Waymo Driver used reasonable precautions because it was near a school during drop-off times and children were nearby. The probe is expected to look at the intended behavior of automated driving systems around schools (particularly during regular pick-up and drop-off times) and Waymo’s response to the incident.

On the day of the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board opened an investigation to Waymo for its vehicles improperly passing school buses in Austin, Texas. Last month, the company conducted a voluntary recall of the software (ie updated its systems) after NHTSA opened an investigation into Waymo vehicles allegedly driving past school buses in Austin and Atlanta.