Halloween is meant to be a night of costumes, candy, and neighborhood celebration. On Saturday, October 31, 2026, that joy turned to heartbreak in Bakersfield, where a 12-year-old girl was struck and killed by a vehicle while trick-or-treating. Three others with her were injured. Holidays like Halloween bring more children onto neighborhood streets than almost any other night of the year, often after dark, in dark costumes, and in the excitement of moving quickly from house to house.
Parents and guardians do what they can to keep their children safe, walking together in groups and staying in familiar areas close to home and community spaces like Challenger Park. For that reason, a Halloween night crash like the one on Harris Road is especially difficult to accept. A family out enjoying a tradition should be able to expect that the drivers around them are slowing down and watching for people sharing the road. Instead, a young girl’s life was cut short, three others now face the physical and emotional road of recovery, and a community that gathered to celebrate is left searching for answers.
What Happened in the Pedestrian Crash
At approximately 6:36 PM, the Bakersfield Police Department responded to a report of a collision at the intersection of Harris Road and Marin Street, near Challenger Park. Emergency responders arriving at the scene found the girl, another child, and two adults with injuries.
All four were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, where the victim later died from her injuries. Witnesses reported that children and families had been out trick-or-treating at the time of the crash.
Investigators determined that a red sedan had been traveling eastbound on Harris Road when it struck the four pedestrians as they crossed at an unmarked crosswalk at the Marin Street intersection. The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with authorities. Investigators have not yet determined whether speed, alcohol, or drug use played a role in the collision.
California’s Duty of Care Toward Pedestrians
California law places a heightened responsibility on drivers when pedestrians are present. Under Civil Code §1714, every person is responsible for injuries caused by a failure to use ordinary care, and courts apply that standard with particular force to drivers, who control a vehicle capable of causing catastrophic harm.
Vehicle Code §21950 requires drivers to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing at a crosswalk and to exercise due care for their safety, and Vehicle Code §22350 prohibits driving at a speed greater than is reasonable for existing conditions.
Many people assume that a crosswalk must be painted to protect pedestrians. Under California law, that is not the case. An intersection generally functions as a legal crosswalk, whether marked or unmarked, meaning drivers approaching an intersection like Harris Road and Marin Street are expected to watch for people crossing.
That expectation grows stronger near parks and on holidays like Halloween, when children are on the streets in large numbers and may move unpredictably. A careful driver in that setting slows down, scans the roadway, and stays ready to stop suddenly.
Negligence Can Exist Even Without Criminal Charges
Families sometimes believe that a civil claim depends on whether the driver is arrested or charged. It does not. Criminal cases and civil cases serve different purposes and apply different standards of proof. Even if prosecutors decline to file charges, a driver may still be found negligent in a civil case if the evidence shows they failed to exercise reasonable care.
Investigators will likely examine the driver’s speed, attentiveness, vehicle condition, lighting at the intersection, and whether impairment was a factor, and each of those findings can shape a later civil claim.
The decision to file criminal charges rests with prosecutors, who must consider whether they can prove every element of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt, a standard intentionally set very high because a person’s freedom is at stake. A civil claim asks a different question: whether it is more likely than not that the driver failed to use reasonable care and that this failure caused the harm.
That lower burden of proof, known in California law as a preponderance of the evidence, means a civil case can move forward and succeed even when a criminal case is never filed, is reduced to a lesser charge, or ends without a conviction. Prosecutors may decline to bring charges for many reasons unrelated to whether a family was wronged, including difficulty proving impairment or intent.
For the victim’s family and the other injured pedestrians, this distinction matters. Their ability to seek accountability and compensation does not hinge on what happens in a courtroom down the hall, and an independent civil investigation can examine the driver’s speed, attention, and decision-making on its own terms.
Legal Options for the Victim’s Family
When a death results from another person’s negligence, California law allows certain surviving family members to seek accountability through a wrongful death claim under Code of Civil Procedure §377.60. Eligible family members, including parents in many circumstances, may pursue compensation for funeral and burial expenses, the loss of the child’s love, companionship, comfort, and care, and other losses connected to the death.
No amount of money can replace a child, but a claim can relieve the financial burden on a grieving family and hold responsible parties to account. A related survival action under Code of Civil Procedure §377.30 may allow the estate to recover damages Faith herself could have pursued had she lived, such as medical expenses incurred before her death.
Under Code of Civil Procedure §335.1, wrongful death and personal injury claims generally must be filed within two years of the incident, so families benefit from speaking with an attorney early, while evidence is fresh and witnesses remember clearly.
Beyond the immediate grief, Faith’s family may have several legal paths available to them, and understanding those options early can help them make decisions without added pressure. Under Code of Civil Procedure §377.60, a wrongful death claim can be brought by specific surviving family members.
In the case of a child, it often includes the parents, and it allows them to seek compensation for the funeral and burial costs, any medical expenses connected to Faith’s final hours, and the profound loss of her love, companionship, comfort, and guidance. In addition, a survival action under Code of Civil Procedure §377.30 may allow Faith’s estate to pursue losses she personally suffered before she died.
An attorney can begin by preserving evidence that is often lost quickly, such as surveillance and doorbell camera footage from the neighborhood, the vehicle’s event data, 911 recordings, and statements from the families who witnessed the crash, and can handle all communication with the driver’s insurance company so the family is not asked to give statements while still in shock.
Because the two-year filing deadline under Code of Civil Procedure §335.1 applies to most of these claims, speaking with a lawyer sooner rather than later protects the family’s rights while leaving them free to grieve, honor Faith, and focus on one another.
Legal Options for the Three Injured Pedestrians
The other child and the two adults hurt in the collision may also have grounds for personal injury claims. These claims can help recover economic damages, such as emergency care, hospital bills, ongoing treatment, rehabilitation, and lost wages, as well as non-economic damages, such as physical pain, emotional distress, and the lasting impact of surviving a traumatic event.
When a minor is injured, additional legal rules may affect how and when a claim can be brought, which is another reason to seek guidance promptly. California follows a pure comparative fault system, which means that if a party is found partly responsible, their recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault rather than barred entirely.
Insurers sometimes try to shift blame onto pedestrians, even children. A thorough investigation helps ensure that the focus remains on the driver’s conduct. The three people hurt alongside Faith may each have their own path to recovery, and their claims are separate from one another and from the wrongful death claim.
A personal injury claim can seek economic damages such as ambulance and emergency room charges, hospital stays, surgeries, follow-up appointments, physical therapy, medication, and wages lost while recovering, and it can also account for future care if injuries prove long-lasting.
Non-economic damages recognize losses that do not come with a receipt, including physical pain, emotional distress, anxiety, sleep disruption, and the lasting psychological impact of surviving a crash that took the life of a child they were with. For the injured child, California law adds protections.
The filing deadline under Code of Civil Procedure §335.1 may be extended for minors, and a settlement on a child’s behalf generally requires court approval to ensure the terms are fair. Because California follows a pure comparative fault system, insurers sometimes argue that a pedestrian shares the blame, even when the person was crossing at an intersection with children in tow.
Gathering medical records, scene evidence, and witness accounts early helps keep the focus on the driver’s conduct. Each injured person should also be careful about giving recorded statements to an insurance adjuster before understanding the full extent of their injuries, since symptoms and emotional effects can emerge or worsen in the weeks following a traumatic event.
How Settlement Value Is Evaluated
Every case is different, and no responsible attorney can promise a particular result. In general, however, injury and wrongful death claims are evaluated using two common approaches. The multiplier method sums documented economic losses, such as medical bills and lost income, and applies a multiplier reflecting the severity of the injuries and the degree of suffering.
The per diem method assigns a daily dollar value to pain and suffering and multiplies it by the number of days a person is expected to be affected. Attorneys often use both methods to test the reasonableness of a figure, and a thorough evaluation also considers future care, permanent impairment, and the strength of the liability evidence.
Determining what a claim may be worth is a careful process that looks at the full picture of a person’s losses, and no attorney can responsibly promise a specific outcome before the evidence is gathered. Two methods are commonly used to frame the discussion.
The multiplier method begins by adding up documented economic losses, such as medical bills and lost income, and then applies a multiplier that reflects factors like the severity of the injuries, the length of recovery, and the strength of the evidence against the driver.
The per diem method assigns a reasonable daily value to pain and suffering and multiplies it by the number of days a person is expected to be affected, which can be useful when recovery is long, but the endpoint can be estimated. Attorneys often compare the results of both approaches to test whether a figure is reasonable.
In a case like the Harris Road collision, the analysis would differ for each person. For the injured pedestrians, it would weigh current and future medical care, time away from work, and the emotional toll of the crash. For the victim’s family, a wrongful death claim looks to funeral costs and the immeasurable loss of a child’s companionship and love.
Other factors can also shape the final number, including the available insurance coverage, any findings about the driver’s speed or impairment, and arguments about comparative fault, which is why a thorough investigation matters before any settlement offer is considered.
Wrongful Death Settlement Calculators and Why They Matter
Wrongful death settlement calculators are online tools that give families a rough starting point for understanding what a claim might be worth, and they can help organize an overwhelming situation into concrete categories.
A typical calculator asks the user to enter documented economic losses, such as funeral and burial expenses, medical bills incurred before death, and the income and financial support the loved one would likely have provided over a lifetime. It then applies a multiplier, or, in the case of the per diem method, a daily rate, to estimate non-economic damages such as the loss of companionship, guidance, and care.
For the family of a child, like victims, the calculation looks different from that of an adult wage earner, since the value of the loss rests more heavily on the parents’ loss of love and companionship than on lost earnings. This is where calculators have real limits.
They cannot weigh the strength of the liability evidence, evaluate whether a driver’s speed or impairment played a role, account for comparative fault arguments from an insurer, or reflect the insurance policy limits that may cap what can actually be collected. The figure a calculator produces is an educational estimate, not a prediction or a promise.
Its greatest value is helping families ask better questions and understand which losses can be documented; an experienced wrongful death attorney can then refine the number based on the specific facts, evidence, and California law that apply to the case. Speaking with an attorney before accepting any early insurance offer helps ensure that a family does not settle for far less than the full measure of their loss. Call us now at 1-855-508-9565 to speak with the experts.
Take Action Today: You Won’t Pay Unless We Win
“To everyone hurt in the Harris Road crash, and to the families who love them, we are so sorry for what you are going through. Right now, your only job is to heal and to be together. When you are ready, know that you do not have to face the insurance companies or the legal process alone. Seek medical care and keep every record, be cautious about giving recorded statements to an insurance adjuster, and speak with an attorney early, because evidence disappears quickly and California law sets strict filing deadlines. Our team handles these cases on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.”- Andy Gillin, GJEL Accident Attorneys
At GJEL Accident Attorneys, we have more than 40 years of experience helping California families after devastating pedestrian accidents, and our attorneys have recovered over $950 million for clients. We handle every case on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. If you or someone you love has been affected by a pedestrian collision, call us at 1-855-508-9565 or visit our Stockton office for a free, confidential consultation.
Local Resources and Agencies That Can Help
Anyone with information about the Harris Road collision, or who needs official records related to it, can start with the Bakersfield Police Department at https://www.bakersfieldcity.us/257/Police. The department’s page is the city’s official source for contacting the agency, finding non-emergency reporting options, and learning how to request information about police matters. In an emergency, always dial 911.
The California Highway Patrol offers statewide traffic safety information and resources for anyone involved in a traffic collision at https://www.chp.ca.gov. Its site is also useful for families who want to understand how collisions are investigated and documented in California.
The Kern County District Attorney’s Victim Services Unit works to make sure crime victims have a voice and access to support throughout the justice process. Families affected by the crash can learn more at https://www.kerncounty.com/government/departments/district-attorney/about/divisions/victim-services.
The California Victim Compensation Board offers financial assistance to eligible victims of crime, which may help with certain costs such as medical bills, counseling, and funeral expenses. Eligibility rules vary by case, and more information is available at https://victims.ca.gov.
Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services provides crisis support and mental health services to Kern County residents of all ages. Children, parents, and neighbors who witnessed or were affected by the crash can find information at https://www.kernbhrs.org/services/crisis-services. Anyone in emotional distress can also call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, with more information at https://988lifeline.org.
The 211 Kern County Resource Directory connects residents with local services, including counseling, financial help, and family support, at https://www.211kerncounty.org. Kern County Public Health also lists community health and referral resources at https://www.kernpublichealth.com.
Those seeking general information about court procedures in Kern County can visit the Kern County Superior Court at https://www.kern.courts.ca.gov. Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance offers civil legal help to qualifying low-income residents at https://www.gbla.org.
