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A private vehicle struck a student in Santa Monica last week, but the victim was not injured, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
The Santa Monica Police Department said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “On January 23, 2026, at approximately 8:31 a.m., officers from the Santa Monica Police Department responded to a collision involving a private vehicle and a student near 24th Street and Pearl Street, near Grant Elementary School.”
“Initial information indicates that the student entered the road outside the intersection and away from the security guard who was on duty, and he was traveling at a low speed, when he collided with a car,” the statement continued.
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A Waymo autonomous taxi in San Francisco, California, US, Wednesday, December 17, 2025. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Santa Monica Fire Department personnel responded to the scene and evaluated the student. No injuries were reported, and the student’s parent was present. Police conducted an investigation at the scene, and the incident is still being reviewed,” the statement concluded.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, released a statement about the incident.
“After the event, we voluntarily contacted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that day. NHTSA has indicated to us that it intends to open an investigation into this incident, and we will fully cooperate with them throughout this process,” the company said in a statement.
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Waymo crosses Congress Avenue at 8th Street in front of the Capitol Building as rain hits the Austin area on Friday, Jan. 23, 2025, ahead of the expected drop in temperature and freezing rain over the weekend. (Sara Diggins/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
“The incident occurred when the pedestrian suddenly entered the road from behind a long SUV, directly into the path of our vehicle. Our technicians quickly located the person when he started to exit from behind the parked vehicle. The Waymo driver braked hard, reducing the speed from approximately 17 mph to less than 6 mph before contact was made,” the company asserted.
Waymo suggested that the car slow down faster than a human driver would in such a situation.
“To put this into perspective, our peer-reviewed model shows that a fully attentive human driver in the same situation would have contacted the pedestrian at approximately 14 mph. This significant reduction in impact speed and magnitude is a reflection of the safety benefits of Waymo Driver’s equipment,” the company announced.
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“After making contact, the pedestrian immediately stood up, walked to the side of the road, and we called 911. The vehicle remained stopped, went to the side of the road, and remained there until law enforcement removed the vehicle from the scene,” Waymo noted.
