Mather DUI Crash Kills Two E-Motorcycle Riders Stopped at Stop Sign

What CHP and Local Reporting Say Happened

According to ABC10, CBS Sacramento, and Fox40, the collision happened at approximately 9:17 p.m. on Monday, May 18, 2026, at the intersection of Eagles Nest Road and Woodring Drive, just east of Sacramento in the Mather area. Four e-motorcycle riders had pulled up to a stop sign and were stationary at the intersection when a Nissan Titan pickup, driven by 24-year-old Jihvon Jessenadea Thompson, slammed into them. CHP investigators said the pickup was traveling at a very high rate of speed at the moment of impact and that alcohol impairment was suspected. Two of the four riders were pronounced dead at the scene. The other two were transported to local hospitals with injuries.

CHP East Sacramento worked the scene late into the night. Eagles Nest Road was shut down for several hours so investigators could photograph and measure the impact area, document vehicle positions, and conduct field sobriety and chemical testing. Thompson was taken into custody and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on five felony counts, including two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Fox40 confirmed the booking and the charge sheet in a follow-up report citing CHP and the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.

One of the deceased riders has been publicly identified by Sacramento media outlets as Myroslav Kulinich, 20, of Sacramento. The second deceased rider was also reported to be approximately 20 years old and had not been publicly named at the time of source reporting, pending family notification. The identities of the two surviving riders have not been released. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire and CHP confirmed the casualty count in successive on-scene statements.

The Riders Were Doing Everything Right

One detail in this crash deserves emphasis, because it shapes both the investigation and the civil case. The four riders were not weaving through traffic. They were not splitting lanes at speed. They were not running the stop sign. They were stopped, exactly where a stop sign told them to stop, at a controlled intersection. The impact came from behind, from a driver who, according to CHP, was traveling at a very high rate of speed and showed signs of impairment.

Electric motorcycles have become more common in the Sacramento metro area in recent years. When an e-motorcycle meets the California Vehicle Code definition of a motorcycle (a motor vehicle with a saddle for the rider, designed to travel on no more than three wheels, capable of speeds above 30 mph), it is subject to the same rules of the road, helmet requirements, and licensing standards as a conventional motorcycle. CHP's classification of the involved machines as e-motorcycles places this crash squarely in the motorcycle framework. CHP investigators said no fault was being attributed to the riders.

The Legal Picture: Two Wrongful Death Claims and Two Injury Claims

A single crash created four separate civil cases. Counsel for the families and for the surviving riders will need to move quickly to lock in evidence, identify every available source of insurance, and coordinate so that the four claims do not work against each other.

For the two deceased riders, California Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 governs wrongful death actions. The statutory heirs of each rider, which can include surviving spouses, registered domestic partners, children, parents, and (in certain dependent-heir scenarios) siblings, can pursue compensation for lost financial support, lost household services, and the loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, society, attention, moral support, and guidance. For decedents around age 20, lifetime earnings models can be substantial, and forensic economists are often retained to project future losses across an entire working lifetime. A wrongful death lawyer typically coordinates separate actions on behalf of each family so that allocation of any settlement is handled fairly.

The two surviving riders have personal injury claims separate from the wrongful death cases. Recoverable damages can include past and future medical expenses, past and future lost earnings, loss of earning capacity, and pain and suffering. Where a survivor sustained orthopedic injuries, traumatic brain injury, or long-term disability, a life-care planner can help quantify lifetime costs. Counsel will also evaluate each survivor's own auto policy for medical-payments coverage and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, since those policies often pay first while the at-fault liability claim is negotiated.

DUI Civil Liability and Punitive Damages in California

Driving under the influence and causing a fatal crash is one of the most well-established factual scenarios for punitive damages in California civil practice. Civil Code section 3294 requires clear and convincing evidence of malice, oppression, or fraud, and DUI conduct has long been recognized by California courts as supporting punitive exposure when the impairment level and surrounding conduct reflect a conscious disregard for the safety of others. Felony charges including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated under Penal Code section 191.5(a) signal that prosecutors view the conduct as well above ordinary negligence.

The threat of punitive damages also changes how insurers behave. Carriers know that punitive awards are typically not insurable in California, and that a jury that hears DUI facts can deliver a verdict that exceeds policy limits. Both realities create pressure on the insurer to settle the compensatory side of the case within available policy limits to avoid bad-faith exposure on top of an uncovered punitive judgment against the driver personally. Counsel for the families will typically signal punitive exposure early in the claim to put that pressure to work.

Investigators should also reconstruct the hours leading up to the crash. California's general rule under Civil Code section 1714 immunizes commercial alcohol providers from civil liability for serving an adult patron, but Business and Professions Code section 25602.1 carves out an exception when alcohol was served to an obviously intoxicated minor and that service was a proximate cause of the crash. While the named suspect here is 24, a careful investigation should still map the evening, identify any service location, document any group of co-drinkers, and evaluate possible social-host scenarios that may unlock additional liability paths. Families considering a drunk driving accident lawyer should ask specifically about that reconstruction.

What Investigators and Civil Attorneys Look For Next

In the days and weeks ahead, CHP East Sacramento will continue developing the official collision report. That report typically pulls together driver statements, witness interviews, scene measurements, photographs, vehicle inspections, and toxicology results. The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office will assess the chemical evidence and decide whether to add additional charges, such as DUI causing injury under Vehicle Code section 23153 or enhancements for great bodily injury.

On the civil side, the first priority is evidence preservation. Counsel for the families and surviving riders will often send formal preservation letters to the Nissan Titan's registered owner, to the driver, to any insurer involved, and to any establishment that may have served alcohol that evening. Those letters put recipients on notice that destroying or routinely overwriting receipts, surveillance video, telematics data, or text messages can carry serious legal consequences.

From there, the case can move into a discovery-heavy phase. Toxicology results, EMS run sheets, hospital records for the surviving riders, the autopsy reports for the two deceased riders, the suspect's driving history, any prior DUI contacts, the vehicle's event data recorder readout, and any nearby business or doorbell camera footage all become relevant. Families dealing with a fatal motorcycle crash often consult a motorcycle accident lawyer early so that the technical and motorcycle-specific evidence is preserved correctly.