Riverside, CA, September 24 – A bicyclist died Thursday morning after being struck by a tractor-trailer at an intersection in Riverside, according to the Riverside Police Department. Officers said the truck driver was attempting a turn when the collision happened. Emergency crews responded to the scene and tried to save the rider, but the bicyclist did not survive. The victim’s identity has not been released.
Riverside Bicyclist Killed in Crash With Tractor-Trailer
Police said the crash occurred at around 10:25 a.m. on Thursday, September 24, at Indiana Avenue and Jefferson Street. Investigators believe the big rig was headed north on Jefferson Street and turning east onto Indiana Avenue when it struck the bicyclist, based on preliminary information released by the department so far.
The driver of the big rig remained at the scene after the crash and was not injured, according to the Riverside Police Department. Police confirmed the driver was present when officers and emergency personnel arrived to respond to the collision between the truck and the bicyclist. No further details about the driver were released.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation by the Riverside Police Department as of this report. Investigators had not said what specifically led to the turn or the collision beyond the preliminary account, and no additional findings about the crash had been made public by authorities as the investigation continues.
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.
