Fresno gunshot victim crashes into vehicle, dies in surgery

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Fresno police discovered a fatal shooting victim only after he crashed his car in Downtown Fresno Thursday. The accident happened on the Fulton Street off-ramp at Highway 180.

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Police found the victim bleeding to death in his car after it slammed into a pick-up truck and light pole.

Detectives are working to figure out who the victim is and why he was being chased and shot at.

Yellow evidence markers point to bullet holes in the passenger side of a Dodge Neon. Fresno police say the driver, only described as a man in his 20's, was shot several times, likely while being chased by another car on the freeway. The driver died in surgery Thursday afternoon.

"We don't know where the shooting occurred, whether it occurred in the city limits or not," said Fresno police Lt. Herman Silva. "What we're thinking is that the shooting happened somewhere on the freeway."

Paramedics and fire fighters initially responded to a traffic crash. The victim's Dodge rear ended a GMC pick-up truck on the Fulton street off-ramp.

"The truck was stopped at a red light," Silva said. "And the car was coming up behind him, and then rear ends him and rolls across the street."

When first responders arrived to help the driver of the Dodge they quickly figured out they were dealing with a shooting. "He was unconscious," Lt. Silva said. "When they pulled him out they noticed he was bleeding. At that point they realized they had a shooting victim, rather bazar because there were no reports of shots being fired in the area."

Investigators say no one has come forward saying they saw the crash or the shooting. But detectives are looking for help with those details. "Maybe seeing what maybe sounded or looked like gunfire because it's apparent to us he was being chased and being shot at somewhere between 180 and 99," said Silva.

Police also say the victim is from Fresno. They say it's too early to know whether this is a gang-involved situation or even a case of mistaken identity. The driver of that red pick-up truck only suffered minor injuries.


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local, rick montanez
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