Merced County, CA, October 25 – A two-vehicle collision at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and McCullagh Road left both drivers with injuries on Sunday, according to the California Highway Patrol. The agency reported that the drivers suffered minor injuries and that it was unclear whether either was taken to a hospital for further treatment. Both vehicles sustained significant damage in the crash, and investigators had not yet determined how the two vehicles collided. The California Highway Patrol said it was continuing to investigate the incident.
Merced County Crash at 3rd Avenue and McCullagh Road Injures Two Drivers
The crash occurred Sunday at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and McCullagh Road in Merced County, according to the California Highway Patrol. Two vehicles were involved in the collision, though the agency did not specify what led to the crash. The time of day and the direction each vehicle was traveling were not included in the initial report.
The California Highway Patrol reported that both drivers sustained minor injuries in the crash. It remained unclear whether either driver needed to be transported to a hospital for further treatment, according to the agency. No other injuries were reported, and no additional details about the drivers’ conditions were released following the crash.
Both vehicles involved in the crash sustained total damage, authorities said. The California Highway Patrol has not released information on how the two vehicles came to collide at the intersection, and the investigation into the cause remains active. No citations or determinations of fault had been announced as of the latest report.
No further details about the crash have been made available, and the California Highway Patrol has not said when the investigation is expected to conclude. The identities of the drivers, the exact circumstances that led to the collision, and whether either driver will face any citation remain unknown at this time.
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 January 1, 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.
