It happened. Jan. 23 near Grant Elementary School on Pearl Street when the child "suddenly entered the roadway" from behind an SUV and right in front of the self-driving car's path, according to a statement from Waymo.
The child suffered minor injuries.
Waymo says the car "braked hard" and slowed from 17 miles per hour to 6 miles per hour before hitting the child. The company says that's faster than a human driver would have been able to brake.
The autonomous car company says it voluntarily contacted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is opening an investigation into the incident.