A young engaged couple just weeks from their wedding date were T-boned by a deputy going nearly 100mph, leaving the fiancé dead and the bride-to-be with permanent brain damage and other severe injuries.
The crash occurred on September 6, 2025, in Calimesa, California, east of Los Angeles. Gavin Hinkley, 21, was killed, and his fiancée, 20-year-old Madeline Fox, must relearn basic motor functions and how to speak.
On April 30, the families filed a lawsuit in Riverside County Superior Court alleging that Deputy Glynn Wilburn engaged in grossly negligent and reckless conduct. The filing accuses Wilburn of causing Hinkley's death and Fox's physical and mental impairment, as well as her grief and emotional distress.
At the time of the crash, Hinkley was driving the couple's Tesla and attempting a left turn at an intersection. Wilburn, responding to a dispatch, was heading straight for them at 98mph on a two-lane road. The deputy braked and turned just before impact but was still going 72mph when he hit the Tesla, according to the lawsuit.
The filing largely cites a California Highway Patrol report, which included photos of the aftermath showing the Tesla's broadside and the patrol vehicle's front completely mangled.
Spencer Lucas, attorney for the families, told the Los Angeles Times, '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.'
According to a GoFundMe set up by Fox's family for her medical expenses, she suffered fractures to her eye socket, jaw, rib, hip, pelvis, and lower spine. She also had internal injuries to her spleen requiring surgery, a punctured lung, and a facial laceration leaving a scar. 'All of these injuries are horrific in themselves but on top of them, Madeline has suffered from Traumatic Brain Injury, requiring long term care. She will need to re-learn everything, from a simple task of learning how to swallow again to basic motor skills,' the family wrote.
Riverside County, Southern California Edison, American Medical Response of Southern California, and the cities of Calimesa and Beaumont were also named as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that Southern California Edison's equipment on the side of the road partially blocked Hinkley's view of the approaching deputy.
The lawsuit also accuses American Medical Response of treating the deputy's minor injuries before tending to the young couple trapped in the wreckage. Beyond the civil suit, Deputy Wilburn may face criminal charges; the Riverside County District Attorney's office says an investigation is ongoing.
On October 25, 2025, the planned wedding date, Fox's friend posted a tribute on Instagram: 'Gavin, you and Madeline were supposed to be married today. This post should have been one full of wedding highlights and photos, not this. On a day that was supposed to be full of love and laughter, it is full of grief and heartbreak. I should be hearing your voice as you joke with your best man and groomsmen and try not to cry as Madeline walks down the aisle in her beautiful dress. This is not how today was supposed to go.'
Fox's family also wrote that day: 'Today is supposed to be one of the happiest days of Gavin and Madeline's life but instead they have been robbed of it due to reckless driving by someone who is supposed to be protecting and serving.'
