A California Deputy Ran a Red Light at 100 MPH & Killed a Groom-To-Be
Updated On: June 23, 2026
A California deputy faces felony charges after a 100 mph red-light crash killed groom Gavin Hinkley weeks before his wedding and left his fiancée, Madeline Fox, catastrophically injured.
Gavin Hinkley and Madeline Fox were running wedding errands on a Saturday morning, a month away from the day they were supposed to get married. A California Sheriff's deputy traveling at 100 mph blew through a red light and ended that future in seconds. Nine months later, that deputy has been criminally charged.
The crash occurred on September 6, 2025, at the intersection of Cherry Valley Boulevard and Roberts Street, in the area between Calimesa and the city of Beaumont. Riverside County Deputy Glynn Wilburn, 42, was responding to a report of shots fired in Calimesa with his lights and sirens activated when his Ford Police Interceptor SUV entered the intersection at nearly 100 mph.
Data from his patrol vehicle showed he turned the steering wheel to the right, took his foot off the accelerator, and applied the brakes, slowing from about 98 mph to roughly 76 mph in the moments before the crash. He then entered the intersection and collided with the couple's vehicle at approximately 71 mph.
Gavin Hinkley, 21, of Calimesa, who was driving, died at the scene. Madeline Fox, 20, of Cherry Valley, survived but suffered catastrophic injuries. According to a GoFundMe created for Fox, those injuries include a traumatic brain injury, fractures to her eye socket, jaw, rib, hip, pelvis and lower spine, internal injuries to her spleen, a punctured lung, and a laceration to her face.
A Detail That Changes Everything
What makes this case especially damning for the prosecution is what dispatch had already communicated before the crash. Prosecutors said that before the crash, a law enforcement dispatcher had confirmed over the radio that deputies were already at the scene, that there were no reports of injuries, and that the suspect had already left the area. In other words, by the time Wilburn was barreling down Cherry Valley Boulevard at highway speeds on a two-lane residential road, the emergency he was racing toward had effectively resolved itself.
The California Highway Patrol, which conducted the investigation, was direct in its findings. "The negligence of Deputy Wilburn was the proximate cause of the death of Driver Hinkley and the injuries to Passenger Fox and himself," the CHP report concluded.
The Charges
On June 17, 2026, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office announced that Wilburn was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter under Penal Code Section 192(c)(1), felony reckless driving causing serious injury under Vehicle Code Section 23105, and a Great Bodily Injury enhancement under Penal Code Section 12022.7(b). A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Wilburn has been placed on administrative leave. An arraignment date has not yet been scheduled.
Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin stated that his office evaluates cases independently and applies the law equally regardless of profession. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco acknowledged the charges and said the crash "claimed the life of a young man and forever changed the life of a young woman," adding that deputies responding to emergencies still have a "due diligence" obligation to ensure public safety.
What the Families Said
The response from both families was measured but clear. A statement from Madeline Fox's parents read in part: "We are grateful that the Riverside County District Attorney has taken this important step and filed criminal charges on behalf of Gavin and Madeline. While we know this is far from over, today's action gives us hope that the justice system is moving in the right direction and that accountability will ultimately prevail. What happened to Gavin and Madeline was preventable."
The families' attorney, Spencer Lucas, put it more bluntly: "There's no excuse for a cowboy cop to be barreling down a two-lane road through a red light. He was driving so far in excess of what would be reasonable. This tragic crash was completely preventable."
The Civil Case Running in Parallel
The criminal charges are not the only legal proceedings underway. A lawsuit filed in May names Wilburn, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, Riverside County, Southern California Edison, American Medical Response of Southern California, and the cities of Calimesa and Beaumont as defendants. The suit alleges that the intersection had dangerous sight-line problems caused by roadway geometry, vegetation, and utility equipment, and that an ambulance crew initially transported Wilburn, who had minor injuries, to a hospital before treating Hinkley and Fox.
A motion filed on June 3 by attorneys representing the defendants seeks to dismiss portions of the lawsuit, arguing that claims related to emergency dispatch and allegations that Riverside County officials failed to protect the victims after the collision lack legal support. The motion does not address the core negligence and wrongful death claims stemming from the crash itself.
What This Case Means for Other Victims
Law enforcement officers responding to emergencies are generally granted certain legal protections, but those protections are not unlimited. California and most other states require that emergency responders, even with lights and sirens active, exercise reasonable care and comply with traffic laws unless the situation genuinely demands otherwise. When a dispatcher has already confirmed no injuries and the suspect has fled, the legal justification for sustained 100 mph driving through residential intersections becomes very difficult to defend.
For victims of crashes involving on-duty police vehicles, the key principle is the same as in any other crash: negligence is negligence, and the badge does not eliminate civil liability or, as this case shows, criminal exposure. The fact that a CHP investigation independently concluded that Wilburn's driving was the proximate cause of the death and injuries strengthens both the criminal case and the parallel civil lawsuit significantly.
Our deepest condolences go out to the family of Gavin Hinkley and to Madeline Fox as she continues her recovery.
If you or a family member has been injured in a crash involving a law enforcement vehicle or any government-operated vehicle, the independent attorneys we connect with understand how to pursue claims against public agencies and can help you navigate the unique legal landscape those cases involve.
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