Bakersfield, CA, September 28 – Four people were killed Monday morning in a head-on crash on westbound State Route 58 near Edison Road, which the California Highway Patrol said was reported at approximately 10:26 a.m. CHP said a Hyundai Tucson traveling in the eastbound lanes crossed into oncoming westbound traffic, striking a Toyota Corolla head-on. Fire broke out in both vehicles immediately after the crash, and each had occupants inside at the time.
Bakersfield Head-On Crash on State Route 58 Leaves Four Dead
All four people who died were occupants of the Hyundai Tucson or the Toyota Corolla, according to the California Highway Patrol. Authorities asked the Kern County Coroner’s Office to respond to the scene following the crash, and as of the agency’s initial report, the identities of the four victims had not been released to the public. Investigators have not yet determined why the Hyundai left its lane, and the CHP’s initial information did not indicate that anyone had been arrested in connection with the crash.
Westbound State Route 58 was shut down entirely in the area of the crash while Caltrans crews and CHP officers worked together to route vehicles around the scene. The closure covered all lanes of the westbound roadway. Emergency personnel also helped move vehicles that had become stranded inside the closed stretch of highway while work at the scene continued.
It was not immediately clear when the closed section of westbound State Route 58 would reopen to traffic, and no estimate was given for the length of the closure. Beyond the details included in its initial report, the California Highway Patrol had not released any further information about the crash, including the investigation’s timeline or possible cause.
What the at-fault driver is required to carry, and why it often is not enough
Vehicle Code section 16056 sets California’s minimum liability limits, and they changed recently. For a policy issued or renewed on or after 1 January 2025, the minimum is $30,000 for injury to or death of one person, $60,000 where two or more people are hurt, and $15,000 for property damage. Policies written before that date may still carry the older minimum of $15,000, $30,000 and $5,000.
Those are floors, not typical limits, and a single hospital admission can exhaust the lower figure before any other loss is counted. Where the at-fault driver carries the minimum, the uninsured and underinsured motorist cover on the injured person’s own policy is often the part that matters most, and it is worth checking early rather than after the other insurer has made an offer.
The deadline that applies to a claim like this one
Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 gives two years for an action for injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another. The same two years covers an injury claim and a death claim; there is no separate, shorter period because someone died.
Who is entitled to bring a claim when someone is killed
Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 decides who may bring a wrongful death action. The first group is the surviving spouse, domestic partner, children and the issue of deceased children, or, where there is no surviving issue, whoever would take the estate by intestate succession.
A second group may bring the action only if they were financially dependent on the person who died: a putative spouse and their children, stepchildren, parents, and the legal guardians of the person who died where the parents are deceased. Parents are in that second group, which is the part families are most often surprised by, because dependency has to be shown rather than assumed.
Talking to someone about it
Culver Legal represents people injured in collisions across California. A conversation about what happened costs nothing, and we work on a contingency fee, which means there is no fee unless we win. If we do not win, we do not pass the case costs on to you either.
Nothing on this page is legal advice about any particular case, and the facts of a reported collision often change as the investigation continues.
