Modesto, CA, October 6 – A 63-year-old bicyclist died in Modesto on Monday afternoon when a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck struck the bicyclist, and the driver left the scene afterward, according to a police report. The Modesto Police Department said the crash happened near Needham Street and McHenry Avenue at approximately 4 p.m. on October 5, 2026. Officers later tracked down the truck and took the driver into custody, police said.
Modesto Bicyclist, 63, Killed in Hit-and-Run Near Needham Street and McHenry Avenue
According to the Modesto Police Department, the pickup was headed down Needham Street before the driver swung into an alley just west of McHenry Avenue. The bicyclist was passing through that alley from Alice Street when the pickup struck them, and the collision left the bicyclist with fatal injuries, police said.
Police said investigators tracked down the pickup a short time later and stopped it near the intersection of 9th and M streets. A DUI investigation followed, and officers determined that the driver had allegedly been driving under the influence, according to the Modesto Police Department. Records also showed a prior DUI-related history for the driver, police said.
According to the Modesto Police Department, the driver was booked on suspicion of murder, hit-and-run driving resulting in death, and driving under the influence causing injury or death. The bicyclist’s identity has not been released, pending notification of next of kin, and police have not disclosed further details about what led up to the crash.
What California law requires of drivers around cyclists
Vehicle Code section 21760, the Three Feet for Safety Act, requires a driver overtaking a bicycle travelling in the same direction to pass at a distance of at least three feet between any part of the vehicle and any part of the bicycle or its rider. Passing closer than that is a violation of the section rather than a matter of judgment.
Section 22517 covers the other common way a cyclist is hurt without being struck from behind. No person may open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so, and no door may be left open longer than is necessary to load or unload passengers.
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.
