After Riverside County Dad Killed On Highway 74, 'Tristin's Bill' Signed Into Law

LA QUINTA, CA — Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law "Tristin’s Bill," state legislation that reforms how the California Department of Transportation evaluates local traffic safety requests along state highways like Highway 74, officials announced Monday.

Assembly Bill 1145, authored by Assemblymembers Jeff Gonzalez and Greg Wallis, requires Caltrans to weigh the costs of locally proposed traffic measures — such as commercial truck restrictions — against alternative solutions when local governments request regulations on state-maintained roads. When Caltrans rejects a proposal, the agency must provide a written justification to the local municipality, establishing formal accountability and transparency.

The bill, signed Sept. 27, takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

The legislation is named in memory of 27-year-old Tristin Samuel Bourgeois of La Quinta, who was killed in October 2024 when an overweight big-rig truck lost control, overturned, and collided with his vehicle near Vista Point on Highway 74 in Palm Desert.

The fatal crash prompted family members, local advocates, and regional leaders to push for legislative reform to address heavy commercial truck traffic along the winding mountain corridor connecting the Coachella Valley to local hill communities and Southwest Riverside County.

While earlier iterations of the legislative effort sought stricter measures — including doubling weight-violation fines or requiring extensive state-mandated studies — the final legislation was narrowed to focus on Caltrans review procedures and transparency for local requests.

A March 2026 study by the Riverside County Transportation Department found that the collision rate on Highway 74 south of Palm Desert was 125 percent higher than on comparable rural two-lane county highways.

Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, who championed the county's traffic study, praised the bill's enactment as a critical step toward improving public safety along the corridor.

“This is a very important issue. We are talking about life and death,” Perez said in a statement, noting that his own brother survived a serious traffic accident on Highway 74. “Nonetheless, the trauma from that accident had a major impact on our entire family. That is why my heart goes out to the Bourgeois family, and it’s time we address Highway 74.”