Fresno, CA, October 1 – A driver was left with serious injuries late Wednesday night after a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Herndon Avenue and Van Ness Boulevard in northwest Fresno, police said. Authorities said the crash involved a vehicle that was struck from behind by another car. The driver of the striking vehicle was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to police. The injured driver was taken to a hospital, where they were listed in critical but stable condition.
Fresno Crash at Herndon Avenue and Van Ness Boulevard Leaves One Driver Critically Injured
Police said the vehicle that was struck had been traveling eastbound on Herndon Avenue at a speed of 50 mph when it was rear-ended by a second car traveling at a high rate of speed, according to authorities. The force of the impact caused the driver of the first vehicle to briefly lose consciousness before waking up pinned inside the wreckage, police said.
Police said the driver of the second vehicle was booked into Fresno County Jail on suspicion of felony driving under the influence. Authorities said the booking also included a sentencing enhancement for inflicting bodily injury during the commission of a felony, a charge tied directly to the injuries suffered by the other driver. No additional charges have been disclosed at this time.
Police have not released the exact time of the crash, nor have they disclosed the identity of the injured driver. It is also not known, police said, what led the second vehicle to travel at a high rate of speed before the collision. Police said the investigation into the crash remains ongoing.
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.
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.
