US opens probe after Waymo self-driving vehicle hits child near school

WASHINGTON — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday it is opening an investigation after a Waymo self-driving vehicle struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California last week, causing minor injuries. The auto safety agency said the child ran across the street on January 23 from behind a double parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Alphabet-unit Waymo autonomous vehicle during normal school drop off hours. The agency said there were other children, a crossing guard, and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity. Waymo said in a blog post Thursday it will cooperate in the investigation and said the child “suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle’s path” and added the self-driving vehicle immediately detected the individual as soon as the child began to emerge from behind the stopped vehicle, braking hard and reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made. NHTSA is opening a preliminary evaluation to investigate whether the Waymo AV exercised ap

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