Fatal crashes in Moreno Valley, CA: deadliest roads, 2020-2024

From 2020 through 2024, federal crash records list 78 fatal crashes inside Moreno Valley, in which 81 people died. The roads with the most were State Route 60 with 12 fatal crashes, Perris Blvd with 10 and Indian St with 7.

Filing deadline, fault rule, insurance and the court for a crash in Moreno Valley: Moreno Valley, CA injury guide.

NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the nationwide count of traffic crashes in which at least one person died, lists 78 fatal crashes in Moreno Valley from 2020 through 2024. Those crashes killed 81 people. NHTSA's Final Files cover 2020 through 2023; the 2024 numbers come from the Annual Report File, NHTSA's first release for the year, and can change when the final version is published.

The count rose from 14 crashes in 2020 to 20 in both 2021 and 2022, fell to 11 in 2023 and rose again to 13 in 2024. Deaths followed the same shape: 14, 21, 20, 12 and 14. The two peak years together hold 40 of the 78 crashes, 51 percent. In 2021, 2023 and 2024, at least one crash killed more than one person, which is why deaths exceed crashes by three over the five years.

Riverside County as a whole recorded 1,527 fatal crashes and 1,618 deaths over the five years, so Moreno Valley accounts for 5 percent of each. FARS classified 74 of the city's 78 crashes as urban and 4 as rural. The weather was clear for 68 crashes, cloudy for 8 and rainy for 2, and 2 crashes happened in work zones, 1 coded as maintenance work and 1 of unknown type.

State Route 60 heads the list with 12 fatal crashes and 12 deaths, the latest in 2024, two more than Perris Blvd, which had 10 crashes and 10 deaths, also most recently in 2024. Indian St follows with 7 crashes and 7 deaths, the latest in 2022, then Heacock St with 6 and 6 (latest in 2024). Lasselle St and Alessandro Blvd tie with 5 crashes and 6 deaths each; the most recent was in 2024 on Lasselle St and in 2023 on Alessandro Blvd. The top four rows alone hold 35 of the city's 78 fatal crashes, 45 percent.

The rest of the table is closer together. Iris Ave had 4 crashes and 4 deaths, the latest in 2023, and Box Springs Rd had 3 and 3, last in 2022. Kitching St's 2 crashes killed 3 people, and Ironwood Ave had 2 crashes and 2 deaths, both with a fatal crash in 2024. All ten rows together account for 56 of the 78 crashes, 72 percent, and 59 of the 81 deaths.

Ten roads holding 72 percent of the city's fatal crashes is a concentrated pattern, but a road's count does not make anyone responsible for a particular crash. Fault turns on that crash's own evidence: the report from the agency that responded, the damage to the vehicles, statements from witnesses and any recordings from nearby cameras. Those records, not a road's place in the table, are what an insurer weighs.

Most of Moreno Valley's fatal crashes happened at night. Of the 78, 49, or 63 percent, were after dark: 39 on lighted roads and 10 on unlit ones. Daylight accounted for 27 and dusk for 2. The six hours from 6 p.m. to midnight had 32 crashes, 41 percent, compared with 19 from noon to 6 p.m., 17 from midnight to 6 a.m. and 8 from 6 a.m. to noon; the hour was unknown for 2.

Thursday had the most fatal crashes, 14, followed by Saturday with 13, while Wednesday had the fewest, 9. Intersections figure in nearly half of the crashes: 20 happened in an intersection and 17 were intersection-related, 37 in all, or 47 percent. Another 35 were away from any junction, and the remaining 6 were tied to a driveway (4), a ramp (1) or another location (1). A single vehicle was involved in 44 crashes, two in 24 and three or more in 10.

In 50 crashes, the first harmful event was not a collision with another vehicle in transport: 24 began with a pedestrian being struck, 8 with a curb, 3 with a cyclist and 3 with a wall, and the other 12 with poles, trees or other objects and events. Of the 28 collisions between vehicles in transport, 19 were angle crashes, in which one vehicle strikes another's side, 4 were rear-end, 4 head-on and 1 a same-direction sideswipe.

Drivers were most of the dead: 48 of the 81 people killed, 59 percent, were driving, and 5 were passengers. Pedestrians were 25, or 31 percent, and bicyclists 3. Counted by crash, 28 of the 78 crashes, 36 percent, involved a pedestrian, cyclist or other person outside a vehicle. Nine of the people killed, 11 percent, were on a motorcycle or moped; they are included in the 81, not added to it.

When a driver is the one killed or hurt, the evidence usually centers on the vehicles and the intersection: the damage, any crash data a vehicle recorded, marks on the pavement and the signal timing. For the families of pedestrians, the questions are where the person was crossing, the street lighting and how far ahead the driver could see. In both kinds of case the evidence fades quickly, so it is worth preserving early.

This case is made up, with round numbers. After dark, you are turning left on a green arrow at a Moreno Valley intersection when an oncoming driver runs the red light and strikes your door. You fracture your pelvis, and your medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering are valued at $250,000. The other driver's insurer argues that you began the turn without looking and should carry 20 percent of the fault.

Under California's pure comparative negligence rule, you can still recover when you were mostly at fault; your share of the blame comes off the award. At 20 percent, the $250,000 becomes $200,000. Even if a jury put 65 percent of the fault on you, you would still recover $87,500, where a state with a 51 percent bar would award nothing. The dispute is about the size of the reduction, which is why the signal records and any intersection video matter.

Collecting the $200,000 is a separate problem. California requires at least 30/60/15 in liability coverage, meaning up to $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 for everyone hurt in one crash and $15,000 for property. If the driver who ran the light carried only that minimum, the policy would cover $30,000 of the award, and whether the remaining $170,000 can be collected depends on the other policies and the facts. All of these amounts are hypothetical.

In California, the duty to report reaches every driver in the crash, at fault or not, and applies on private property too. Form SR 1, the Report of Traffic Accident Occurring in California, must reach the DMV within 10 days when the crash killed someone, injured anyone even slightly, or caused more than $1,000 of damage to any one person's property (Cal. Veh. Code § 16000(a)). You may file it yourself, or your insurance agent, broker or legal representative can file it for you.

A crash that injured or killed anyone must also be reported to law enforcement within 24 hours. When the California Highway Patrol investigated, its crash report request page is the place to ask for a copy; for other crashes, ask the agency that responded. Once the report is available, check that it records the signal, the lighting and the witnesses. Then:

• Note which agency responded, the officer's name and the report number.
• File form SR 1 with the DMV within 10 days and keep a copy.
• Photograph signals, turn lanes and street lighting; 37 of the city's fatal crashes were in or related to an intersection.
• Ask nearby businesses and homes to save camera footage before it is recorded over.
• See a doctor promptly and keep every record and bill.
• If a city, county or other California public entity may be responsible, note the six-month deadline for a government claim (Gov. Code § 911.2).

A lawsuit over a crash in Moreno Valley is typically filed in the Riverside County Superior Court; in a particular case, an attorney may conclude that a different court is correct. California generally gives two years to file a personal injury lawsuit (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1), and for an injured child that two-year clock pauses until the child turns 18 (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 352(a)). For a family bringing a wrongful death claim, the two years under § 335.1 run from the death, so the date of death is the one to track.

Two other dates can come first. If a city, county or other California public entity may share the blame, a government claim must be filed within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2), and the deadline for suing a public entity is set separately by state law. And if the crash happened at work, the California Division of Workers' Compensation oversees a separate system, with notice to the employer generally due within 30 days and a claim within one year.

Pure comparative negligence is the reason the driver in the example keeps $87,500 at 65 percent fault. In a state with a 51 percent bar, that share would end the claim, and in contributory negligence states such as Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia, even the insurer's 20 percent figure could generally bar recovery entirely. The same crash and the same injuries can produce three very different results depending on the state.

Insurance rules are a second dividing line. Florida, Michigan, New York and New Jersey use no-fault insurance, under which your own policy generally pays certain losses whoever caused the crash, and suits over pain and suffering are generally reserved for more serious injuries. California is an at-fault state, so a Moreno Valley claim is made against the liability coverage of the driver at fault. Deadlines differ as well: Tennessee allows one year for most injury claims, half of California's general two years.

Ask Legal Matters is a personal injury lead-generation service that collects free case review requests from injured people in the United States and shares them with independent attorneys and law firms. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Requests may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle inquiries in your state. Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency, charging a percentage of any recovery rather than an hourly fee. An attorney must evaluate the facts before anyone can say whether a claim exists, especially when the six-month government claim deadline may apply. If you were hurt in a crash in Moreno Valley, you can request a free case review.

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More on this type of claim: Car accidents: evidence, deadlines and when to ask an attorney.

• Moreno Valley, California: local injury guide, court and deadlines
• Car Accident Claims in the United States: The Complete Guide
• Pedestrian Accident Claims: Rights, Fault and Compensation

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