BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — The Kern County Coroner’s Office said the cause of death for a man who died on White Lane after a suspected assault in 2025 was “physiologic stress during an altercation in an individual.”
RELATED: Man killed in alleged East White Lane assault identified
The Bakersfield Police Department said on October 2, 2025, just after 10 a.m., a BPD officer witnessed an assault on a victim in the 100 block of East White Lane.
The officer rendered aid to the victim, later identified as 56-year-old Peter Espinoza, and emergency medical was called.
Espinoza died from his injuries.
There is a heavy police presence on South Union Avenue and White Lane Thursday morning. PHOTO: KBAK/KBFX
The coroner’s report said an autopsy was conducted, and the cause of death was determined to be physiologic stress during an altercation in an individual with methamphetamine toxicity, and the manner of death was homicide.
At the time, in 2025, police said the assailant was in custody.