Fresno, CA, October 15 – One person was killed in a two-vehicle crash near Lemoore in Kings County, according to the California Highway Patrol. The collision involved a Camaro and a Kia Soul. One driver was taken to a hospital in Fresno, though the CHP has not released that person’s condition. The agency has also not said which vehicle’s occupant died in the crash, and no names have been released for either driver involved.
Lemoore Crash on Highway 198 at Enterprise Avenue Leaves One Dead
The crash happened Thursday morning on Highway 198 at Enterprise Avenue, just outside Naval Air Station Lemoore, the CHP said. The Camaro was leaving the air station and turning onto the highway when it was struck by the Kia Soul. The CHP’s report did not describe the speed or direction of either vehicle before the impact, or whether any other factors contributed to the collision.
The Kia’s driver was taken to a hospital in Fresno following the crash, the CHP said, though the agency did not disclose the extent of that person’s injuries. It has also not been confirmed whether the Kia’s driver was the person killed or whether the fatality involved the Camaro’s occupant. No information was provided about whether anyone else was in either vehicle at the time of the collision.
Several details of the crash have not been made public. The CHP has not released the names of either driver, the cause of the collision, or whether any citations were issued. The agency’s report did not address what led the Camaro to collide with the Kia Soul as it turned onto the highway. No further information had been released at last check.
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.
