A 12-year-old girl died and three other pedestrians were injured after a red Hyundai sedan struck them while they crossed Harris Road near Marin Street in southwest Bakersfield on Halloween night. Officers were called to the 3800 block of Harris Road at 6:36 p.m. Saturday, and the four pedestrians — two adults and two juveniles — were taken by ambulance to an area hospital, where the girl later died.
According to KGET 17 News, witnesses said children and families were out trick-or-treating in the area at the time of the crash. Police say the Kern County Coroner’s Office will identify the girl at a later time. The other three pedestrians suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening, Turn to 23 reports.
Driver Stayed at the Scene, Cause Still Under Review
Preliminary information from police indicates the driver was headed eastbound on Harris Road when he struck the pedestrians, who were walking southbound within an unmarked crosswalk at the intersection with Marin Street. The driver remained at the scene and spoke with officers, and police said he was cooperating with investigators. It is currently unknown whether speed or impairment contributed to the collision, and the incident remains under investigation, per the same account from Turn to 23.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Bakersfield Police Department at 661-327-7111.
A Corridor With a Deadly History
Saturday’s crash adds to a troubling record on Harris Road. In the last five years, crashes along the corridor have killed nine people and injured 20 others, according to KGET. That toll includes a three-car crash on April 23 that killed three people, and the 2017 death of five-year-old Emily Guillen-Casillas, who was struck by a car near California Springs Drive and Harris Road. Neighbors living near the road have since started a petition calling for changes to the street.
Citywide Numbers Point to a Persistent Problem
The crash also lands amid a broader spike in pedestrian collisions across Bakersfield. As of September 15, the Bakersfield Police Department had reported 137 pedestrian-related collisions for the year, including 15 fatal and 19 involving severe injuries, according to BakersfieldNow. From 2022 through 2025, BPD recorded 768 pedestrian-related collisions citywide, with 590 reported injuries, 96 fatal injuries and 93 severe injuries. The station’s report also notes that Union Avenue logged the most pedestrian collisions of any corridor so far this year, with 15, and that Friday evenings between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. are the most common time for these crashes to occur.
Planning Documents Flagged High-Risk Intersections Years Ago
Bakersfield’s 2022 Local Road Safety Plan, compiled for the Kern Council of Governments, identified 10 high-injury intersections citywide where a combined 28 fatal or severe-injury collisions had occurred, and it recommended systemic pedestrian and bicycle improvements as one of six priority safety projects, according to the plan published by KernCOG. The same document found that vehicle-pedestrian collisions made up 36% of the city’s fatal and severe-injury crashes between 2015 and 2019, and that about 58% of those serious crashes happened at night. Bakersfield recorded 11,834 total collisions during that five-year span, including 419 that were fatal or involved severe injuries, and the California Office of Traffic Safety had ranked the city seventh among 15 similarly sized cities for high pedestrian collisions back in 2018.
Separately, a $1.8 million project awarded to Kern County Public Works is set to bring crosswalk safety upgrades, including flashing beacons, new crosswalks and ADA ramps, to uncontrolled intersections in Oildale and East Bakersfield, Turn to 23 has reported. That project targets locations where pedestrians must cross multiple lanes of traffic, though it is separate from the Harris Road corridor where Saturday’s fatal crash occurred.
