Modesto, CA, October 15 – A man riding a nonmotorized scooter suffered major injuries after being struck by a car in south Modesto on Friday night, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crash happened in the area of Boulder Avenue and Hatch Road at about 8:35 p.m. October 9, when the scooter rider was crossing Hatch Road and was hit by a westbound sedan. The driver stayed at the scene and was not injured.
Modesto Scooter Rider Hit by Car Friday Night Near Boulder and Hatch
The man riding the scooter was identified as Rodney Abel, 58, of Modesto. He was crossing Hatch Road from the north side to the south when he was struck by a westbound 2002 Honda sedan. Abel was ejected from the scooter in the collision and was not wearing a helmet. He was taken to a hospital with major injuries. The driver of the sedan, identified as Zaki Itehad, 49, of Modesto, was not injured and remained at the scene.
The California Highway Patrol first reported the crash, and the Modesto Police Department has since taken over the investigation into its cause. According to police, alcohol and drugs were not suspected to have played a role in the collision, and no citations or arrests had been announced as of this report. Investigators have not released any additional details about what led up to the crash.
Many details about the crash remain unclear. Abel’s current condition and the full extent of his injuries have not been made public. Investigators have not said what caused the sedan and the scooter to collide, and it is not yet known whether the Modesto Police Department’s investigation will result in any citations.
Lane splitting, and what the Vehicle Code actually says
Vehicle Code section 21658.1 defines lane splitting and authorises the California Highway Patrol to develop educational guidelines for it. What matters after a crash is the distinction the section draws: lane splitting is not prohibited in California, and not prohibited is not the same thing as legal.
The practical effect is that a rider who was lane splitting has not broken a rule by doing so, and an insurer that treats lane splitting as automatic fault is asserting something the statute does not say. Fault still turns on how each party behaved, the same as in any other collision.
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.
