Huntington Beach, CA, October 21 – A motorcyclist has died after his motorcycle struck the rear of an SUV, according to the Huntington Beach Police Department. The man was identified as Brett Wayne Goucher, 33, of Westminster. Goucher was riding on Newland Street at approximately 5:30 a.m. Wednesday when the collision occurred. He was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead from his injuries.
Huntington Beach Identifies Motorcyclist Killed in Crash With SUV
Police said Goucher was headed south on Newland Street, just north of Talbert Avenue, when his red Kawasaki motorcycle struck the back of a white Volkswagen Tiguan SUV. The SUV was driven by a 57-year-old man from Garden Grove, who stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators. The driver was not hurt in the crash.
The Huntington Beach Police Department said investigators do not believe the SUV driver was impaired at the time of the crash. According to police, it has not yet been determined whether impairment played a role for Goucher. The agency said the circumstances leading up to the collision remain under review.
The Huntington Beach Police Department has not released the cause of the crash. Investigators have not said whether any citations were issued to either driver, or whether charges are expected as the case moves forward. Police also have not said whether speed was considered a factor in the collision. No further details about the investigation have been made available as of this report.
Lane splitting, and what the Vehicle Code actually says
Vehicle Code section 21658.1 defines lane splitting and authorises the California Highway Patrol to develop educational guidelines for it. What matters after a crash is the distinction the section draws: lane splitting is not prohibited in California, and not prohibited is not the same thing as legal.
The practical effect is that a rider who was lane splitting has not broken a rule by doing so, and an insurer that treats lane splitting as automatic fault is asserting something the statute does not say. Fault still turns on how each party behaved, the same as in any other collision.
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.
