Self-driving car accidents in Los AngelesHit by a Waymo? We handle the company.

This page is for anyone hurt in a crash with a driverless car in Los Angeles County: a rider, a person walking or on a bike or motorcycle, the driver of another car, or a family after a death. It covers the service area, airports, city records, the Santa Monica crash under federal investigation, police reports, courts and public claims. The law that applies statewide is on our California self-driving car accident lawyer page and our California autonomous vehicle law page.

Los Angeles robotaxi status

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) decides whether a company may test or deploy a self-driving car, and its permit holder page lists the companies. It says a company with a testing permit "is authorized to test on any public road within the State of California." The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) decides whether a company may carry passengers and charge for it. Its permits page shows Waymo as the only holder of fared driverless authority. Zoox holds pilot permits only, and the CPUC's program page says that under the pilot programs "monetary compensation may not be charged for any rides in test AVs."

Zoox announced in April 2025 that it would deploy "a small number of our retrofitted test fleet vehicles, equipped with safety drivers, in a small area of the Los Angeles metro area." A Tesla on Autopilot or Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is a different case. Vehicle Code 38750 excludes systems that cannot drive "without the active control or monitoring of a human operator," so those crashes are covered on our Tesla Autopilot and FSD crashes page.

Authorized versus served

Where Waymo may operate and where it picks up riders are two different maps. The CPUC first approved Waymo's fared driverless service in parts of Los Angeles on March 1, 2024, over protests that included one from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT). The full Commission affirmed that approval in Resolution TL-19150 on June 20, 2024.

On August 14, 2026, CPUC staff approved a much larger area. Waymo's request described parts of 18 counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura, and named newly added cities such as Long Beach, Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, Anaheim and Irvine. None of those cities appears on Waymo's rider map as of October 5, 2026.

Authorization tells you where a company may drive. It does not tell you that a car seen there was carrying riders, or which company it belonged to. The plate and the markings on the car answer that, and our self-driving car crash lookup shows each company's permits and any federal crash report.

Waymo's Los Angeles map

Waymo's Los Angeles page says: "Waymo is currently operating across LA, from Santa Monica to Echo Park, and down to Inglewood." The service map in Waymo's help center, checked October 5, 2026, labels these places. The map shows a rider service area, not a legal boundary.

• Westside: Santa Monica, Santa Monica Pier, Venice, Marina del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Playa Vista, Westchester, Del Rey, Mar Vista, Sawtelle, Brentwood, Westwood, UCLA, Century City, Cheviot Hills, Culver City and Beverly Hills.
• Central and east: West Hollywood, Hollywood, Larchmont Village, Mid-Wilshire, Mid City, K-Town, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Westlake, Chinatown, DTLA, West Adams, University Park and USC.
• South: Windsor Hills, Inglewood and SoFi Stadium.

Waymo says "Anyone in Los Angeles can take a ride today" and that its cars are on the road 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Freeway trips are narrower. Waymo began offering freeway rides in Los Angeles on November 12, 2025, and its freeway help page now says "Freeway access is currently limited, so not all riders can take freeway trips yet." A freeway crash is usually handled by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), as our freeway accidents page explains.

The map crosses several separate cities. Santa Monica, Culver City, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Inglewood each have their own city government, so the agency that writes the report and the office that takes a public claim depend on the exact street. Our Los Angeles personal injury lawyer and Beverly Hills personal injury lawyer pages list local courthouses and hospitals.

Airports in Los Angeles

Waymo does not serve LAX. Its Los Angeles page says: "As of now, we do not offer service to LAX." CPUC rules bar driverless passenger service at an airport without "the express authorization of the relevant airport authority," and the CPUC's list of airport authorizations, checked October 5, 2026, does not include LAX. LADOT told the City Council in September 2025 that companies typically "have to apply for a non-exclusive license agreement (NELA) to operate on LAWA property," meaning land run by Los Angeles World Airports.

Santa Monica Airport is different. Waymo told the CPUC on March 21, 2025 that it had "been authorized by Santa Monica Airport to conduct fared driverless autonomous vehicle passenger service operations at the Airport." A Waymo on the streets near LAX is not operating under any airport authorization.

City records on robotaxis

The City of Los Angeles cannot permit or ban robotaxis. LADOT's report of September 22, 2025 says: "Local jurisdictions do not have vehicle or operational permitting authority over AV companies." It describes a city working group in which LADOT meets with Waymo, the Mayor's staff, the police and fire departments and the airport agency. It says LADOT has been able to report incidents and send Waymo information on road closures and special events, with requests to keep the cars out of those areas, adding: "While LADOT is unable to confirm full compliance, Waymo acknowledged receipt of the information."

Council file 25-1427, introduced December 2, 2025, asks the fire and police departments, with LADOT, "to report on the number and nature of all incidents involving Waymo and other autonomous vehicle (AV) operators since January 2024." Four Council committees approved or concurred in it between January 14 and February 10, 2026. The file page, last changed September 23, 2026, shows "No votes were found." A related file, 25-1427-S1, calls for reports on the federal investigations involving Waymo and on "the number and nature of pending or resolved claims involving autonomous vehicles." These files are records to watch. None of them decides fault in any crash.

Santa Monica records

Santa Monica sued Waymo over round-the-clock charging and servicing at two lots on Broadway. The city says the Los Angeles County Superior Court granted a preliminary injunction on July 27, 2026, barring use of the lots "between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m." while the case proceeds. On August 14, 2026, the city reported that the Court of Appeal had "temporarily stayed enforcement" of the injunction while it considers Waymo's request for a stay pending appeal. The case concerns charging lots, not any crash.

The Santa Monica school zone crash

On January 23, 2026, a Waymo with no one aboard was involved in a crash with a child near a Santa Monica elementary school during morning drop-off. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE26-001 on January 28, 2026. Its summary says the child "ran across the street from behind a double parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Waymo AV," and that "Waymo reported that the child sustained minor injuries." NHTSA says it will examine the car's behavior in school zones, "adherence to posted speed limits" and "Waymo's post-impact response."

The records give different speeds, and each belongs to its source. Waymo's own crash report to NHTSA, report 30270-13850, lists a pre-crash speed of 6 mph and names the Santa Monica Police Department as the investigating agency. The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary information for HWY26FH008 says the car was traveling at "17 mph" before it braked, and calls that information "preliminary and subject to change." NHTSA's investigation file of October 4, 2026 still shows PE26-001 open, and the NTSB lists its investigation as ongoing. Neither agency has made findings. Council file 25-1427-S1 refers to the same crash.

Claims for people on foot are explained on our pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists page and our child pedestrian accidents page. Our evidence page explains why a company's first report may not be its last.

Police reports in Los Angeles

1. 1
   Get the agency and report number

   Ask the officer which agency is writing the report: LAPD, the Santa Monica Police Department, another city's police, the Sheriff's Department or the CHP. Write down the report number before you leave.

2. 2
   LAPD reports

   The LAPD releases collision reports online or by mail. By mail, send the request form with a $19.00 check or money order to Records and Identification Division, Document Processing Unit, P.O. Box 30158, Los Angeles, CA 90030. LAPD says to allow at least 45 days, and reports involving an arrest, a death or a juvenile go by mail only.

3. 3
   Freeway reports

   The CHP releases its reports to a proper party of interest, such as a driver, passenger or vehicle owner, through form CHP 190, submitted in person or by mail to the CHP Area office.

4. 4
   Who may get the report

   Vehicle Code 20012 requires the agency to disclose the report to any person with a proper interest, including the drivers involved. We request it for our clients.

5. 5
   A notice to the company

   Since July 1, 2026, an officer who sees a driverless car break a traffic law may issue a notice of autonomous vehicle noncompliance to the manufacturer, which must send it to the DMV within 72 hours (DMV AVIM 2026-002). Under Vehicle Code 38752, the notice "shall not create a presumption that the autonomous vehicle is unsafe."

Our self-driving car crash checklist lists what to photograph and write down at the scene, including the plate and the company markings.

Los Angeles courthouses

Los Angeles Superior Court takes an injury case in the district where the crash happened. The court's General Order 2024-GEN-003-00 of May 17, 2024 says that since October 10, 2022, newly filed injury cases "have been filed in the judicial district where the incident arose," and it points filers to the court's filing court locator. The court's current statement of location form, LASC CIV 109 (Rev. 04/26), lists "Location where bodily injury, death or damage occurred" as the ground for a motor vehicle injury case. Injury cases filed in the Central District go to independent calendar courtrooms at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

Because the Waymo map crosses Santa Monica, the Westside, central Los Angeles and Inglewood, the right courthouse depends on the street address, and we confirm it with the locator before filing. The statute of limitations, the deadline to file a lawsuit, is the same everywhere: two years from the injury (Code Civ. Proc. 335.1).

A rider's claim may not reach a courthouse at all. Waymo's rider terms, last updated September 29, 2026, call for "binding, individual arbitration" and let a rider opt out "within thirty (30) days of the date you first accepted a version of these Terms." People who were walking, cycling or driving another car never accepted those terms. Our robotaxi passenger injuries page explains arbitration and the opt-out.

Claims against a public agency

Most self-driving car claims are against a private company, and a claim against Waymo or Zoox is not a government claim. A public agency enters the case only when a city or county vehicle, a dangerous road condition or a broken traffic signal played a part. Then Government Code 911.2 requires a written claim for injury or death "not later than six months after the accrual of the cause of action."

The City Clerk's page says "Emailed or faxed claims are not accepted." Santa Monica's claim form says injury claims "must be filed within six months after the occurrence." Federal vehicles, such as postal trucks, follow a separate process explained in our government and postal vehicle guide.

Cases outside this page

• You were riding in the Waymo. See our robotaxi passenger injuries page.
• The car drove away, or you hit a Waymo. See our Waymo insurance and claims page.
• You want the company's record. See our Waymo accidents page and our page on who is liable.
• Someone died. See our Los Angeles wrongful death lawyer page.
• The crash was in the Bay Area or San Diego. See our San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego pages.

After you call

A Los Angeles robotaxi case turns on records held by the company, the police agency and sometimes a city. We identify the company and its permits, request the report from the right agency, ask the company to preserve its data, check for a federal crash report, and track the six-month and two-year deadlines. Josh Kohanim, Esq. is the firm's founder and trial attorney. Call (424) 235-7879, where Spanish-speaking staff answer the phone, or use the form. No fee unless we recover.