San Jose, CA, October 18 – A head-on collision involving at least two vehicles left one person dead and two others injured early Sunday morning, according to police. The crash was reported near the intersection of Capitol and McLaughlin avenues at about 6:30 a.m. on October 18. All three people involved were taken to a hospital, where one of them died from their injuries. The circumstances leading to the crash have not been released.
San Jose Crash Near Capitol and McLaughlin Avenues Kills One, Injures Two
Preliminary reports indicate that at least two vehicles were involved in the head-on collision. Investigators have not released details on what led up to the crash, and the sequence of events immediately before the collision remains unclear. No further information about the circumstances surrounding the crash has been made public at this time.
Three people were transported to a hospital following the crash, according to police. One of them later died from injuries suffered in the collision, while the other two were treated for injuries sustained in the crash. The identities of all three people involved, including the victim who died, have not been released by authorities.
The crash remains under investigation, and authorities have not released the identities of anyone involved, including the person who died. The cause of the collision has not been determined, according to the police. At this time, it is not known what led to the crash, whether any citations were issued, or when investigators expect to release additional information.
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.
