Escondido, CA, October 29 – The San Diego County Medical Examiner has identified the e-bike rider killed in a collision with a pickup truck in Escondido earlier this month as Regilellis Liza Legaspi, 26, of Escondido. The California Highway Patrol responded to the crash near North Centre City Parkway and Champagne Boulevard and is investigating the circumstances surrounding it.
Escondido bicyclist killed in crash with pickup truck identified
Police responded to the collision at about 5:47 a.m. on October 2, 2026, near North Centre City Parkway and Champagne Boulevard in Escondido. The California Highway Patrol said the crash involved an electric bicycle, operated by Legaspi, and a pickup truck.
Legaspi was found trapped beneath the truck after the collision. He was taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, where he was pronounced dead at 6:23 a.m. the same day from blunt force injuries, according to CHP.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner later identified Legaspi, 26, of Escondido, as the deceased e-bike rider. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the circumstances surrounding the fatal collision.
The cause of the crash has not been released, and CHP has not said whether any citations have been issued. Further details are expected as the investigation continues.
What California law requires of drivers around cyclists
Vehicle Code section 21760, the Three Feet for Safety Act, requires a driver overtaking a bicycle traveling in the same direction to pass at a distance of at least three feet between any part of the vehicle and any part of the bicycle or its rider. Passing closer than that is a violation of the section rather than a matter of judgment.
Section 22517 covers the other common way a cyclist is hurt without being struck from behind. No person may open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so, and no door may be left open longer than is necessary to load or unload passengers.
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.
