Waymo is under scrutiny after one of its autonomous taxis struck a child near a Santa Monica elementary school during drop-off, leaving the child with minor injuries. A Waymo self-driving taxi recently struck a child near a Santa Monica elementary school during drop-off hours, triggering an investigation into the incident by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Santa Monica Police said officers responded to the Jan. 23 incident near 24th and Pearl streets, close to Grant Elementary School. “This significant reduction in impact speed and severity is a demonstration of the material safety benefit of the Waymo Driver.”California Waymo killed KitKat. Santa Monica sued Waymo in December after it ordered the company to cease overnight operations of two charging stations for the autonomous vehicles.