INSIDE
smmirror.com
February 6 – February 12, 2026 Volume CXXIII Issue 214
Santa Monica Landlords Accused of Turning 62 Rent-Controlled Units into Illegal Short-Term Rentals See Page 4
Federal probe opened after Waymo vehicle hits child near Santa Monica elementary school
Monica on the morning of January According to the blog post, Waymo made contact with the pedestrian at Safety regulators to Santa 23, according to a blog post on the claimed the child ran into the street from approximately 14 mph.” website. behind a double-parked SUV and was Witnesses called 911, according to review “self-driving” company’s Waymo said it reported the crash to struck as the autonomous vehicle moved the LA Times, and the vehicle remained the National Highway Traffic Safety forward toward the school. The car stopped, then moved to the side of the road vehicle company’s Administration and that the child company's blog also stated that, after the and stayed there until law enforcement suffered minor injuries. The agency has crash, the child stood up immediately and cleared it to leave. conduct during opened an investigation into the incident walked to the sidewalk. In the blog post, Waymo said, “We and is reviewing whether the vehicle The blog states, “The Waymo Driver will cooperate fully with them (NHTSA) exercised appropriate caution in a school- braked hard, reducing speed from morning drop-off. throughout the process.” Waymo is already Waymo’s self-driving taxi service is under federal scrutiny by two agencies after one of its autonomous vehicles struck a child near Grant Elementary School in
zone environment, and the National Transportation Safety Board will also investigate the incident and Waymo incidents near schools, according to Reuters.
approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made. To put this in perspective, our peer-reviewed model shows that a fully attentive human driver in this same situation would have
involved in a contentious fight over the company’s charging lot in Santa Monica that has led to a lawsuit from the City of Santa Monica.
Pedestrian killed on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, PCH closed for hours
Fatal collision near Winding Way shut down the highway on Monday night.
Traffic along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu was shut down for several hours on Monday night after a pedestrian was fatally struck, authorities said. The collision occurred about 7:30 p.m. near Winding Way, east of Kanan Dume Road, according to the California Highway
Patrol, Lost Hills Station. The highway remained closed while investigators worked at the scene and reopened shortly after 2:00 a.m. Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics pronounced the pedestrian dead at the scene. The victim’s identity has not yet been released. CHP officers said the driver involved in the collision remained at the location and cooperated with the investigation. Authorities said neither speed nor driving under the influence is believed to have contributed to the crash. The circumstances leading up to the collision are still under investigation.