Diamond Bar, CA, November 11 – A pedestrian died after being struck by a vehicle at approximately 2:15 a.m. on November 11 on the eastbound Pomona (60) Freeway near the Orange (57) Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol. The victim was later identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner as 52-year-old Ana Gutierrez. The crash prompted a lengthy closure of the freeway as investigators worked the scene.
Diamond Bar Pedestrian Ana Gutierrez Killed in Early Morning Crash on 60 Freeway
According to the California Highway Patrol, officers responding to the scene initially believed a vehicle had struck a rock on the freeway. Upon arrival, however, they determined that the vehicle, a red Kia, had struck Gutierrez instead. Officers began performing CPR, but Gutierrez was pronounced dead at the scene after resuscitation efforts failed.
The California Highway Patrol closed all eastbound lanes of the 60 Freeway, along with the transition road connecting to the Orange (57) Freeway, while officers secured the scene with flares and investigated the crash. An indefinite SigAlert was issued for the area. The closure was later reduced to a single main lane on the eastbound 60 Freeway as the investigation continued.
The California Highway Patrol has not released additional details about what led to the collision. Gutierrez’s identity was not made public until days after the crash, when the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner confirmed her name and age. No further information about the circumstances of the crash has been disclosed.
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.
