Modesto, CA, October 8 – A collision between two dirt bike riders on a trail in Modesto left one person dead and another hospitalized on Wednesday night, according to the Modesto Police Department. A group of riders had been traveling on the trail when two of them crashed head-on into each other. One rider later died from his injuries, while the second was hospitalized with moderate injuries.
Modesto Dirt Bike Crash on Dry Creek Trail Leaves One Rider Dead
Just before 10 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7, authorities responded to a reported collision on the Dry Creek Trail near Edgebrook Drive in Modesto. According to the Modesto Police Department, a group of dirt bike riders had been riding on the trail when two of the riders crashed head-on into each other.
Witnesses at the scene performed life-saving measures on one of the riders, a 66-year-old man, before authorities arrived. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries, the Modesto Police Department said. The second rider, a 48-year-old man, was also taken to a hospital and is being treated for moderate injuries.
The Modesto Police Department said it is investigating to determine what caused the two dirt bikes to collide. The agency has not released the names of either rider, and the cause of the crash has not been confirmed. No additional details about the incident had been made public as of this report.
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.
