Bakersfield, CA, September 28 – One person died Monday morning in a two-vehicle crash in Bakersfield, according to the California Highway Patrol. CHP reported that the collision happened after a car traveling eastbound crossed into oncoming lanes and struck another vehicle head-on. The agency has not released the identities of those involved or specified who died. Authorities are continuing to look into how the crash occurred.
Bakersfield Highway 58 Head-On Collision Kills One
The crash occurred on westbound Highway 58 near Malaga Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. CHP said a car traveling eastbound reportedly left its lane and crossed into the westbound side of the highway, striking an oncoming vehicle head-on. The report did not indicate how many occupants were in either car or say which vehicle carried the person who died.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating what caused the eastbound vehicle to cross into oncoming traffic. The agency has not attributed the crash to speed, impairment, or any other specific factor, and no citations or arrests have been reported in connection with the collision. CHP has not said whether the investigation is ongoing or considered complete as of the report.
Several details about the crash have not been made public. The identity of the person who died has not been released, and it is not known whether the driver of the other vehicle was injured. The California Highway Patrol’s report does not mention road or weather conditions at the time of the collision. Additional information may be released as the agency’s investigation continues.
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.
