California father Julián Jimenez Ceniceros looked forward to visiting family in Mexico after decades apart. Sadly, that dream was shattered on December 4, 2025. Jimenez Ceniceros died in a fiery head-on collision while driving to work on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. The 53-year-old leaves behind a loving family grieving his sudden and unexpected death. His daughter, Julissa Jimenez, will never forget the final moment she had with her beloved father and what she told him not long before he died.
Jimenez told KNBC that her dad worked at a restaurant and headed in around 7 p.m. Just before he left, she made sure to let him know how much she loved him. “I remember that night he came over and said, ‘I’m leaving now, dear, and I said, ‘OK, be careful.’ And I kissed him on the forehead,” Jimenez said. “That day, my dad was going to work, he was going to Malibu, he was going to clean, and a car was coming from here to Oxnard, and it crashed head-on into my dad.”
A 25-year-old driving a Dodge Charger reportedly crossed the double yellow line for unknown reasons and crashed into Jimenez Ceniceros’ Chevrolet Tahoe, per KTLA. His daughter heard about the accident and tried calling her dad, but he didn’t answer. Soon, a video of the crash appeared on social media, and the heartbroken daughter had a terrible feeling.
“And from a distance, I could see a truck, and I said, ‘It looks like my dad’s, but I can’t see it clearly, I can’t see the license plates,’” Jimenez told KNBC.
Later that evening, deputies from the California Highway Patrol confirmed the family’s nightmare. Jimenez said her father came to the United States as a teenager from Durango, Mexico.
“[H]e didn’t deserve to die like that,” she said. “And that was the hardest part because he was really looking forward to going to Durango. He had been here for many years. He had been living here for thirty years and wanted to see his parents, siblings, and nephews, but he never made it,” the grieving daughter said.
The driver of the other car also perished, and police believe that person was under the influence of alcohol.
What a devastating start to the holiday season. Jimenez Ceniceros will make it back to Mexico but only to be buried and not to see relatives he wanted to reunite with so badly.
