Fresno County, CA, November 5 – An 80-year-old man died after the vehicle he was driving was struck by a pickup truck at a Fresno County intersection on Thursday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. The man was attempting to turn left when the pickup, traveling in the opposite direction, hit his car, CHP said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and the crash remains under investigation.
Fresno County Crash on Highway 43 Kills 80-Year-Old Driver
The CHP said the crash occurred at the intersection of Highway 43 and Cairo Avenue at about 6:45 a.m. on November 5. The man was driving a Kia Forte north on Highway 43 and had stopped at the intersection before trying to turn left. A pickup truck traveling south then struck the Kia as it turned.
The force of the crash sent the Kia spinning before it came to rest on the shoulder of the roadway, according to the CHP. The driver was declared dead at the scene, and his name has not been released. The CHP said alcohol and drugs are not suspected to have been factors in the crash.
Investigators have not yet determined what caused the crash, and the CHP said more information will be released as the inquiry continues. The identity of the man who died has not been made public, and the CHP has not announced any citations in connection with the collision. Details about the pickup truck and its driver have also not been released.
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.
