Fresno, CA, October 18 – A man died and six other people were injured in a multi-vehicle crash in Fresno County on Saturday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crash happened at the intersection of Brawley Avenue and Jensen Avenue at around 4:30 p.m. and involved three vehicles. Three drivers and three passengers were taken to the hospital with injuries. The man who died was a passenger in one of the vehicles.
Fresno County Multi-Vehicle Crash at Brawley and Jensen Avenues Leaves One Dead, Six Hurt
According to the California Highway Patrol, a Volkswagen traveling westbound on Jensen Avenue struck a Ford Fusion that was traveling southbound on Brawley Avenue. A Ford F-150 traveling eastbound on Jensen then struck the passenger side of the Fusion. The crash occurred at around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the intersection of Brawley Avenue and Jensen Avenue.
A passenger riding in the Ford Fusion was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity has not been disclosed. Three drivers and three additional passengers from the vehicles involved were transported to the hospital with injuries.
The California Highway Patrol said it does not suspect alcohol or drugs as factors in the crash. No further details on the cause of the collision have been released.
The identity of the man who died has not been made public, and the conditions of the six people taken to the hospital have not been disclosed. The cause of the crash beyond the vehicles’ directions of travel has not been confirmed, and it is not known whether any citations have been issued.
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.
