Merced, CA, October 13 – A driver was hospitalized with major injuries after a sedan collided with a concrete mixer semi-truck in an early morning crash, according to the California Highway Patrol. The driver suffered a broken leg among other injuries and was taken to a hospital for treatment. CHP said the cause of the collision was not immediately clear, and investigators are continuing to look into what happened before the crash.
Merced Driver Suffers Major Injuries in Collision With Concrete Mixer on Belcher Avenue
The crash happened around 4:47 a.m. on Tuesday on eastbound Belcher Avenue, just west of Highway 59, according to the California Highway Patrol. A black Toyota Camry collided with a concrete mixer semi-truck. CHP said the circumstances surrounding the collision were unclear, and no additional details about how the two vehicles came together have been released.
The driver of the Toyota sustained major injuries in the crash, including a broken leg. Paramedics responded to the scene shortly after the collision and transported the injured driver to Memorial Hospital, where treatment was underway. CHP’s initial reporting on the crash did not identify any other individuals involved or describe further injuries.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, and no citations or arrests had been reported as of Tuesday. Authorities have not released the name or age of the injured driver, identified the driver of the concrete mixer, or determined a cause for the collision. CHP said no further details were available while the investigation continues.
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.
