Fresno, CA, September 28 – Two people were killed and a third was hospitalized after a two-vehicle crash near Easton on Monday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP said a Nissan Altima and a Honda Civic collided, sending both vehicles off the road. The driver of the Nissan and a passenger in the car died as a result of the crash. The Honda’s driver survived and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Fresno County Crash on Lincoln Avenue Near Easton Leaves Two Dead
According to the CHP, the vehicles collided at approximately 7:50 a.m. Monday on Lincoln Avenue, near where it crosses Cornelia and Blythe avenues in Fresno County. Investigators say the Nissan was headed west along that stretch of road when the Honda struck its rear end. The impact sent both cars off the pavement, and they came to rest beside an orchard.
According to the CHP, both people who lost their lives were in the Nissan, the vehicle’s driver and one passenger. The driver of the Honda survived the crash and was taken to a hospital, where the CHP said injuries were assessed as minor to moderate. The CHP has not said whether anyone else was in either vehicle at the time of the crash.
The CHP has not released the names of the driver or passenger who were killed. The agency also has not said what led the Honda to strike the Nissan or whether the driver now faces any citation. As of this report, no further details about the crash or the investigation have been made public.
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.
