{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0370","record_version":1,"title":"Waymo robotaxi collision with child near elementary school, Santa Monica (January 2026)","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":59.6,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":15.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":6.0,"completeness":4.48,"unhedged_language":5.0},"checks":{"schema_valid":true,"every_field_cited":true,"quotes_verbatim":true,"source_fetched":true,"distinct_incident":true,"dates_plausible":true,"sources_agree":true,"source_describes_incident":true,"severe_backed_by_source":true,"record_integrity":true,"eligible":true,"about_this_case":true},"gate_version":"gate-2026-10-18.7","cross_check_model":null,"cross_check_agreement":null,"duplicate_of":null,"verified_by":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-01","extraction_run_id":null,"evidence_level":{"level":"confirmed","reason":"2 independent outlets","original_document":null,"reports_total":2,"reports_independent":2,"reports_derivative":0,"developing":false,"disputed":false,"rules_version":"evidence-2026-10-29.1","computed_at":"2026-11-01","history":[{"date":"2026-11-01","from_level":null,"to_level":"confirmed","reason":"2 independent outlets"}]},"sources_hash":"a8eca7f69dba91a51e1962843775b4d35ba73215c3fc692e979009c5129a560c"},"system":{"model_name":"5th Generation Automated Driving System","model_version":null,"developer":"Waymo","harness":null,"tools_granted":[],"permissions_scope":null,"autonomy_level":"full-auto","guardrails_present":[],"deployment_context":"unknown","tier":null,"lifecycle_stage":null,"integration_type":null,"intended_use":null,"safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":null},"event":{"date_occurred":null,"date_disclosed":"2026-01-29","incident_class":"physical_safety","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":true,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"unknown","summary":"A Waymo robotaxi running its 5th Generation Automated Driving System with no human safety supervisor was involved in a collision in Santa Monica, California, near an elementary school during normal school drop-off hours. The child ran out from behind a double-parked SUV. According to Waymo, the vehicle detected the person as they emerged and braked hard, reducing speed from about 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact. NHTSA records state the child sustained minor injuries. After contact the pedestrian stood up and walked to the sidewalk, Waymo called 911, and the vehicle stopped at the roadside until law enforcement cleared it. NHTSA opened an investigation into whether the vehicle exercised appropriate caution, and the NTSB opened its own investigation in coordination with local police.","tags":[],"date_detected":null,"near_miss":null,"root_cause":null,"root_cause_detail":null,"failure_class_detail":null,"responsible_party":null,"adversarial_actor":null,"input_provenance":null,"time_to_contain":null,"operations_paused":null,"remediation":null,"precursor_events":null,"primary_risk":"RK18"},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"moderate","severity_because":"moderate: bounded scope stated (one child, minor injuries per NHTSA records); no broader third-party or system impact is stated","harm_class":["bodily"],"affected_description":null,"protected_class_involved":null,"data_categories_exposed":[],"loss_range_usd":null,"reversibility":null,"downstream_exposure_count":null},"evidence":{"sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/29/waymo-nhtsa-crash-child-school.html","publisher":"CNBC","date":"2026-01-29","type":"press","title":"A Waymo hit a child near an elementary school. The NHTSA is investigating - CNBC","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report","independence":"independent"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/waymo-robotaxi-hits-a-child-near-an-elementary-school-in-santa-monica/","publisher":"TechCrunch","date":"2026-01-29","type":"press","title":"Waymo robotaxi hits a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica - TechCrunch","archived_url":null,"independence":"independent"}],"per_field_confidence":{"system.model_name":"C","system.developer":"C","system.autonomy_level":"C","context.industry":"C","context.country":"C","event.incident_class":"C","event.agent_involved":"C","impact.harm_class":"C","impact.severity":"D","impact.severity_because":"D","event.primary_risk":"D","event.summary":"C","system.deployment_context":"D","event.trigger":"D","event.detection_method":"D","event.date_disclosed":"D","context.denominator_available":"D"},"field_citations":{"system.model_name":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The vehicle was running on Waymo's 5th Generation Automated Driving System with no human safety supervisor in the vehicle."}],"system.developer":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Alphabet-owned Waymo has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that one of its driverless vehicles"}],"system.autonomy_level":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The vehicle was running on Waymo's 5th Generation Automated Driving System with no human safety supervisor in the vehicle."}],"context.industry":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Alphabet-owned Waymo has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that one of its driverless vehicles"}],"context.country":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Alphabet-owned Waymo has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that one of its driverless vehicles \"struck a child near an elementary school\" in Santa Monica, California"}],"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Waymo AV"}],"event.agent_involved":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The vehicle was running on Waymo's 5th Generation Automated Driving System with no human safety supervisor in the vehicle."}],"impact.harm_class":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"According to records posted to the NHTSA website, the child sustained minor injuries."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"According to records posted to the NHTSA website, the child sustained minor injuries."}],"impact.severity_because":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"According to records posted to the NHTSA website, the child sustained minor injuries."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"The vehicle was running on Waymo's 5th Generation Automated Driving System with no human safety supervisor in the vehicle."},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Waymo AV"},{"source_index":0,"quote":"The Waymo Driver braked hard, reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made"},{"source_index":0,"quote":"According to records posted to the NHTSA website, the child sustained minor injuries."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"Following contact, the pedestrian stood up immediately, walked to the sidewalk, and we called 911."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"The NHTSA has opened an investigation into the accident"},{"source_index":1,"quote":"The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday afternoon that it has also opened an investigation in coordination with the Santa Monica Police Department."}]},"notes_on_gaps":"The sources give the collision date only as January 23 with no year; the year 2026 is inferred from the article dates, so event.date_occurred is left out. No date of disclosure to NHTSA is stated, and no detection date is given beyond the company's account. The child's age and identity are not public. The sources do not state deployment context, root cause, or any control that held or failed in this incident; Waymo's braking and post-impact steps are company accounts not verified by regulators, and no control list item matches them, so links are empty. NHTSA and NTSB investigations were still open. The school bus probes and the Los Angeles Zeekr incident are separate incidents and were excluded. No failure class is given because no agent misalignment is described. Severity 'moderate' is my judgement: one child with minor injuries is a bounded scope, not a safety-of-life or multi-party tier. No remediation is reported in the sources. Reversibility is not stated. [case created by the backfill: read by claude-haiku-5-5, backfill-2026-11-01.2, 2026-11-01; not yet reviewed] [2026-11-01: evidence level set: Confirmed (2 independent outlets)]"},"context":{"industry":"transportation","org_size_band":null,"country":"US","denominator_available":false,"denominator":null,"related_incident_ids":[],"systemic_exposure":null,"shared_model_id":null,"upstream_incident_id":null,"incident_evidence":null,"regulatory":null,"coverage":null},"narrative":{"steps":[{"step":"reached","text":"NHTSA records state the child sustained minor injuries.","quote":"According to records posted to the NHTSA website, the child sustained minor injuries.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"},{"step":"caught","text":"Waymo itself informed NHTSA of the collision.","quote":"Alphabet-owned Waymo has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that one of its driverless vehicles","source_index":0,"grade":"C"},{"step":"done","text":"The incident is now being investigated by the U.S. vehicle safety authority.","quote":"The Jan. 23 incident is now being investigated by the U.S. vehicle safety authority.","source_index":0,"grade":"C"}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/29/waymo-nhtsa-crash-child-school.html","https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/waymo-robotaxi-hits-a-child-near-an-elementary-school-in-santa-monica/"]},"analysis":{"sections":{"timeline":[{"text":"Waymo robotaxi struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica.","quote":"A Waymo robotaxi struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica on January 23, according to the company.","source_index":1,"when":"January 23"},{"text":"Collision occurred within two blocks of an elementary school during normal school drop-off hours.","quote":"The Waymo collision occurred within two blocks of an elementary school during normal school drop-off hours, while other children, a crossing guard and several double-parked vehicles were nearby.","source_index":0,"when":null},{"text":"After contact the pedestrian stood up and walked to the sidewalk, and Waymo called 911.","quote":"Following contact, the pedestrian stood up immediately, walked to the sidewalk, and we called 911.","source_index":1,"when":null},{"text":"The vehicle remained stopped at the side of the road until law enforcement cleared it to leave.","quote":"The vehicle remained stopped, moved to the side of the road, and stayed there until law enforcement cleared the vehicle to leave the scene","source_index":1,"when":null},{"text":"NHTSA opened an investigation into the accident.","quote":"The NHTSA has opened an investigation into the accident","source_index":1,"when":null},{"text":"The NTSB said it opened an investigation in coordination with the Santa Monica Police Department.","quote":"The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday afternoon that it has also opened an investigation in coordination with the Santa Monica Police Department.","source_index":1,"when":"Thursday afternoon"}]},"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/29/waymo-nhtsa-crash-child-school.html","https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/waymo-robotaxi-hits-a-child-near-an-elementary-school-in-santa-monica/"]}}