Madera County, CA – The Fresno Bee has released the full list of names for those who were killed and the one who was injured in a fatal head-on collision on Friday, February 23, 2024.
The crash occurred between a GMC van carrying farm workers who all resided in Kerman to their jobs in Firebaught at Lions Farms and a Chevy pickup truck driven by 78-year-old Auberry man Robert Jerry Kovar.
The van was driving westbound on Avenue 7 just after 6 AM as the Chevy was driving eastbound. Investigators have not yet determined why it was that Kovar crossed the center line, bringing him into the path of the GMC with fatal consequences.
Kovar died at the scene, as did 7 of the 8 men in the van:
- 34-year-old Fidel Filomeno Ojeda
- 35-year-old Pedro Hernandez Ojeda
- 30-year-old Victor Hernandez Cirilo
- 57-year-old Roberto Banuelos Flores
- 30-year-old Alfredo Sanchez Morales
- 34-year-old Hector Manuel Orozco Ordonez
- 24-year-old Juvenal Jacobo Talavera
Only 33-year-old Benito Perez survived the crash to receive treatment for his injuries.
Wrongful Death Claims
Losing a loved one in a fatal accident comes with a deep emotional cost, but it also comes with a high financial cost as well — hospital fees, burial expenses, and the loss of income toward dependents of the deceased. To address these costs, grieving families may turn to fundraising apps without knowing the compensation that could be available to them by making a wrongful death claim.
Neither victims nor their families do not need to carry insurance of their own or even possess citizenship status. If another person carries liability for their death, then a personal injury attorney can help negotiate with the insurance provider for those responsible, taking the financial insult out of the emotional injury from that loss.
