Bakersfield, CA, October 27 – At least one person was injured on Friday night when a vehicle crossed into the opposite lane of travel on California Avenue and struck another vehicle in the drive-thru lane of a Taco Bell near Oak Street, according to the Bakersfield Police Department. The crash was reported around 10:45 p.m. The occupant of the second vehicle suffered injuries that police described as minor.
Bakersfield Crash Near Oak Street Leaves One Injured in Suspected DUI Incident
The driver who crossed into the opposite lane was 33 years old, according to the Bakersfield Police Department. The driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence following the crash, police said. Investigators have not released further information about the basis for the arrest or whether chemical testing was conducted.
The crash remains under investigation by the Bakersfield Police Department. Officers have not said whether the driver has been formally charged in connection with the crash or whether additional citations may follow. Police also have not indicated whether any other vehicles besides the two involved were affected by the collision.
Several details about the crash have not been released. Police have not disclosed the name of the injured person, the extent of their injuries beyond describing them as minor, or whether that person required hospital treatment. The circumstances that led the driver to cross into the opposite lane also have not been explained by investigators.
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.
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.
