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Last week in Santa Monica, an autonomous vehicle was involved in an incident with a student, but fortunately, no injuries were reported, as confirmed by the Santa Monica Police Department.
According to a statement provided to Fox News Digital, the Santa Monica Police Department detailed the event, stating, “On January 23, 2026, at approximately 8:31 a.m., officers from the Santa Monica Police Department were dispatched to a traffic collision involving an autonomous vehicle and a student near 24th Street and Pearl Street, close to Grant Elementary School.”
The statement further explained that preliminary findings suggest the student stepped onto the roadway outside the designated crosswalk area and away from the crossing guard on duty, resulting in a low-speed collision with the autonomous vehicle. Thankfully, the collision did not result in any injuries.
An image of a Waymo autonomous taxi in San Francisco, California, taken on December 17, 2025, accompanies this report. (Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Emergency responders from the Santa Monica Fire Department assessed the student at the scene, confirming no injuries. The student’s parent was present during this evaluation. The police conducted an on-site investigation, and the incident is currently being reviewed further.
Waymo, a company that falls under Alphabet’s umbrella, issued a statement about the incident.
“Following the event, we voluntarily contacted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that same day. NHTSA has indicated to us that they intend to open an investigation into this incident, and we will cooperate fully with them throughout the process,” the company noted in the statement.
A Waymo drives across Congress Avenue on 8th Street in front of the Capitol Building as rain arrives in the Austin area on Friday, Jan. 23, 2025, ahead of anticipated drops in temperature and freezing rain over the weekend. (Sara Diggins/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
“The event occurred when the pedestrian suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle’s path. Our technology immediately detected the individual as soon as they began to emerge from behind the stopped vehicle. The Waymo Driver braked hard, reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made,” the company asserted.
Waymo suggested that the vehicle slowed down faster than a human driver would have in such a circumstance.
“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,” the company declared.
“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,” Waymo noted.