Waymo is facing a federal safety investigation after one of its self-driving vehicles struck a 9-year-old girl near a school in Santa Monica, California, earlier this year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is examining the January crash and has received information from Waymo as part of its inquiry into the incident, TechCrunch reported. The agency has begun publishing documents related to the investigation, although the company’s responses released so far have been fully redacted because they contain information Waymo considers confidential.
Benzinga contacted Waymo for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
The crash happened on Jan. 23 when a Waymo-operated Jaguar I-Pace was traveling near a school. The vehicle was moving at about 17 miles per hour when the child entered the roadway. According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the robotaxi slowed to roughly six miles per hour before making contact with the girl near the front-right portion of the vehicle.
The child fell after the impact but was able to get herself to the side of the road and reported minor injuries. She was not taken to a hospital, according to the NTSB’s preliminary findings.
