Modesto, CA, November 4 – Police say a pedestrian hit by a car while crossing a Modesto street this week did not survive his injuries. Edward Heiss was crossing Prescott Road when a vehicle turning left from Mt. Vernon Drive struck him, the Modesto Police Department said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The fatality was the city’s 15th traffic death of 2026, according to police.
Modesto pedestrian dies after being struck by vehicle on Prescott Road
The crash happened around 1:12 p.m. on November 3, 2026, at the intersection of Prescott Road and Mt. Vernon Drive, Modesto police said. Investigators said Heiss was crossing Prescott Road in the south crosswalk with an illuminated walk signal when the vehicle, turning left from Mt. Vernon Drive, struck him. He was taken to a local hospital following the collision.
Heiss was later pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the Modesto Police Department. The driver, who is 46, remained at the scene after the crash and cooperated with investigators, police said. Police have not indicated that the driver faces any citations or arrests in connection with the collision at this time.
The Modesto Police Department has not released additional details about the crash, including the make or model of the vehicle involved or the name of the driver. The collision marked the city’s 15th traffic fatality of 2026, according to police. It remains unclear whether any charges will result from the investigation, and police have not said when the inquiry might conclude.
What California law requires of drivers around pedestrians
Vehicle Code section 21950 requires a driver to yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing within any marked crosswalk, or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. Subdivision (b) is the one people misread: a pedestrian may walk or run, and doing either does not forfeit the right of way.
Subdivision (c) puts a separate duty on the driver. A driver approaching a pedestrian in any crosswalk must exercise all due care and reduce the speed of the vehicle. That duty applies whether or not the pedestrian had the right of way, and subdivision (d) preserves it: nothing in the section relieves a driver of the duty to use due care for the safety of any pedestrian in the roadway.
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.
