Poway, CA, October 29 – A driver died and another was seriously injured after two vehicles collided head-on on State Route 67 north of Poway Road in Poway early Thursday morning, October 8, 2026. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said the crash happened at approximately 6:08 a.m. under circumstances that remain unclear. The driver who died has since been identified by the San Diego County Medical Examiner.
Poway Driver Killed in Head-On Crash on State Route 67
The San Diego County Medical Examiner identified the driver who died as David Frank Ortiz, 69, of Warner Springs. Ortiz was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 6:23 a.m., about 15 minutes after the collision, according to medical examiner records. His cause of death was listed as multiple blunt force injuries.
The driver of the second vehicle sustained serious injuries in the crash and was transported to a hospital for treatment, according to the Sheriff’s Department. San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies and Poway Fire Department personnel responded to the scene after the collision. The Sheriff’s Department has opened an investigation into the circumstances of the crash.
The cause of the collision had not been determined as of Thursday, and the Sheriff’s Department did not say whether speed, impairment, or any other factor played a role. The identity of the second driver has not been released. No citations or arrests had been reported in connection with the crash.
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 January 1, 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.
