Riverside, CA, September 16 – Two 14-year-old boys who were badly hurt when they were hit by a car while riding an e-scooter and an e-motorcycle in Riverside last month have died from their injuries, according to authorities. The collision happened around 7:46 p.m. on August 25 at the intersection of Arlington Avenue and Mitchell Avenue, when the boys tried to cross Arlington Avenue and were struck by a Lexus sedan, according to Riverside police.
Riverside Teens Hit by Car While Riding E-Scooter, E-Motorcycle Have Died
According to Riverside police, the boys were traveling south on Mitchell Avenue on the e-scooter and e-motorcycle when a Lexus sedan, driven by an 88-year-old man heading west on Arlington Avenue, entered the intersection as they attempted to cross. The impact shattered the sedan’s windshield, and the e-scooter became wedged underneath the vehicle’s front bumper. The driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with responding officers.
Both teens were taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition, according to Riverside police. The intersection remained closed for several hours afterward while investigators documented the scene. Authorities reported last month that the boys had died from the injuries they sustained in the August crash, weeks after being hospitalized.
Riverside police have not released the names of the boys, and the department has not said whether the driver will face any citations in connection with the crash. Additional details about the circumstances of their deaths, including the specific injuries involved, have not been made public as of this report.
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.
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.
