Bakersfield, CA, October 10 – A 14-year-old girl died after she was struck by a vehicle while riding an electric scooter on Airport Drive at El Tejon Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol. The teenager, identified as Elizabeth Beatrice Griffith, was declared dead at the scene. The driver remained at the location and cooperated with officers. The CHP has not released further information about the circumstances of the crash.
Bakersfield Teen on E-Scooter Killed in Crosswalk Crash on Airport Drive
The California Highway Patrol said the collision was reported at around 4:21 p.m. She was crossing in the marked crosswalk on her scooter when a northbound 2007 Kia Rio collided with her, based on the CHP’s report. The agency identified the vehicle’s make, model and year but did not detail how the crash occurred beyond the direction the car was traveling.
The man driving the Kia was 34 years old and remained at the scene following the crash, according to the CHP. He spoke with responding officers as they investigated. The agency has not indicated whether the driver will face a citation or charges in connection with the crash, and the CHP has not reported any arrest.
Beyond the details released so far, the California Highway Patrol has not said what caused the crash or whether any other factors were involved. It is unclear whether the investigation is ongoing or if additional findings will be made public. The CHP has not provided further comment on the case.
Lane splitting, and what the Vehicle Code actually says
Vehicle Code section 21658.1 defines lane splitting and authorises the California Highway Patrol to develop educational guidelines for it. What matters after a crash is the distinction the section draws: lane splitting is not prohibited in California, and not prohibited is not the same thing as legal.
The practical effect is that a rider who was lane splitting has not broken a rule by doing so, and an insurer that treats lane splitting as automatic fault is asserting something the statute does not say. Fault still turns on how each party behaved, the same as in any other collision.
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.
