Expedito Ibarra Madrigal Killed in Gardena Accident

GARDENA, CA — The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has identified the pedestrian killed on Western Avenue last week as Expedito Ibarra Madrigal, 48. His family says he was working when a vehicle struck him.

Gardena police officers were dispatched about 7:55 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, to the 13200 block of Western Avenue and found an unconscious man lying in the road. Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics treated him at the scene and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Medical Examiner released his name Monday and listed no city of residence.

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“The driver of the vehicle was not injured and cooperated with the investigation,” Gardena police traffic bureau Lt. Matt Hassoldt said in remarks distributed by City News Service. The department has not released the driver’s name, the direction either party was traveling, or any preliminary determination of fault. Investigators have asked anyone who saw the collision to contact the Gardena Police Department traffic bureau and reference report No. T26-3523.

A memorial fundraiser organized by Wendy Garcia describes Ibarra Madrigal as a father, husband, brother and son who lost his life on Aug. 12 while he was working, and who was known among family and friends as Tito. Gardena police have not said publicly whether he was on the job when he was struck.

A locally maintained road with a heavy pedestrian toll

The stretch of Western Avenue where Ibarra Madrigal died sits north of Interstate 405, past the northern limit of State Route 213. Caltrans maintains Western Avenue only from 25th Street in San Pedro to the 405 in Torrance, which leaves the Gardena segment under local control.

UC Berkeley’s Safe Transportation Research and Education Center reported that 1,158 pedestrians were killed in California in 2022, accounting for 26% of all motor vehicle fatalities in the state. Nationally, pedestrian deaths rose 77.3% between 2012 and 2022. The Governors Highway Safety Association put the preliminary 2024 national count at 7,148, a decline of 4.3% from the previous year.

SafeTREC found that men accounted for 72.7% of California pedestrian fatalities in 2023. People between 25 and 55, the bracket that included Ibarra Madrigal at 48, made up 56% of them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 369 workers killed as pedestrians struck by motorized land vehicles in 2024, up 19% from 310 the year before. Of those deaths, 148 occurred in a roadway and 61 in a road work zone. Transportation incidents accounted for 38.2% of all fatal occupational injuries nationwide that year.

Driver duty and family remedies 

Vehicle Code § 21950 requires a driver to yield to a pedestrian crossing within a marked or unmarked crosswalk. Subdivision (c) obligates a driver approaching any such pedestrian to slow down or take other action to protect them. Section 21954 places the yield obligation on a pedestrian crossing outside a crosswalk. Subdivision (b) preserves the driver’s independent duty to exercise due care toward anyone on foot in the roadway. A pedestrian’s own carelessness does not end the inquiry, because California applies pure comparative fault and reduces a recovery in proportion to fault rather than barring it.

If the family’s account that Ibarra Madrigal was working holds up, workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against his employer under Labor Code § 3600. Death benefits including burial expenses flow through §§ 4700 to 4703. Labor Code § 3852 separately preserves the right to sue a negligent third party such as the driver, with the employer or its carrier entitled to reimbursement from any recovery.

Evidence Code § 351.2 bars both the admission of and discovery into a person’s immigration status in personal injury and wrongful death actions. Civil Code § 3339 and Labor Code § 1171.5 make state remedies available regardless of status.

Public-entity exposure under Government Code § 835 remains speculative unless the investigation identifies a roadway defect such as inadequate lighting, signal timing or crosswalk placement. If a public entity is named, Government Code § 911.2 requires a written claim within six months of the death.

Talk to a Los Angeles wrongful death lawyer

J&Y Law represents families after fatal pedestrian collisions across Los Angeles County and the South Bay. Surviving spouses, children and other statutory heirs may bring a wrongful death action under Code of Civil Procedure §§ 377.60 to 377.61. The estate may pursue a survival action under § 377.30. The deadline is generally two years under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, and only six months under Government Code § 911.2 if a public entity is a defendant. Our attorneys work on a contingency fee, so you owe nothing unless we recover for you. Call for a free consultation.