El Monte, CA, September 15 – A man riding an electric bicycle died after being struck by a car in El Monte, according to the California Highway Patrol. The El Monte Police Department said the crash happened around 10:45 p.m. on September 14, 2026, in the 4100 block of Richwood Avenue. The circumstances that led to the collision have not been made public. No further details about the driver or the vehicle involved have been released.
El Monte Man Killed in Crash While Riding Electric Bike on Richwood Avenue
The man was riding an electric bicycle when a car struck him, according to the El Monte Police Department. Police have not released information about how the two collided or what led up to the crash. The department described the circumstances of the collision as unclear. No information about the vehicle involved, including its make or model, has been released.
Authorities are working to determine what led to the crash, according to the El Monte Police Department. No arrests or citations have been reported in connection with the collision. It is not known whether the driver remained at the scene, whether any other vehicles were involved, or whether pedestrians in the area were affected by the crash.
The identity of the man who died has not been released, nor has any information about his age or where he was headed at the time of the crash. Investigators have not said whether speed, distraction or impairment contributed to the collision. The cause of the crash remained unconfirmed as of the latest report from police.
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.
