A Waymo robotaxi has hit a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica

A Waymo robotaxi hit a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica on January 23, according to the company. Waymo told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that the child – whose age is unknown at this time – suffered minor injuries.

NHTSA has opened it search the accident, and Waymo said in a blog post that “it will fully cooperate with them throughout the period.”

Waymo said its robotaxi hit the child at 6 miles per hour, after hitting “hard” from around 17 miles per hour. A young pedestrian “suddenly entered the road from behind a long SUV, and walked into the path of our vehicle,” the company said in its blog. Waymo said its vehicle “detected the person as soon as he started to come out from behind the parked car.”

“After the contact, the pedestrian stopped immediately, walked to the side of the road, and we called 911. The vehicle came to a stop, moved to the side of the road, and remained there until police removed the vehicle from the scene,” Waymo wrote in a post.

News of the crash comes as Waymo faces a dual investigation into its illegal passing of school buses. NHTSA opened a search went into trouble in October immediately after the first report of the incident in Atlanta, Georgia, and the National Transportation Safety Board opened its own. search last week after nearly 20 incidents in Austin, Texas.

According to the NHTSA, the crash happened “within two blocks” of the elementary school “during school dismissal.” The security guard said “there were some children, a crossing guard, and several cars parked nearby.”

NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation is investigating “whether Waymo AV exercised reasonable caution, among other things, for its proximity to an elementary school during recess, and the presence of young pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.”

Waymo said in its blog post that a “peer-reviewed model” showed “a normal driver with the same problem would have made contact with the pedestrian at about 14 mph.” The company did not release a separate analysis of the accident.