A Merced man fatally shot himself after he abducted his ex-wife and two children from their Fresno home early Friday and crashed their car in Kern County, police said.
Yeng Vang, 24, of Merced shot himself while driving and then crashed, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Friday afternoon.
Dyer said Vang abducted his ex-wife and two children from a central Fresno home about 1:45 a.m. The abduction triggered an Amber Alert and a broadcast to the California Highway Patrol.
Initially, Vang headed northbound on Highway 99 toward Merced. But at some point he turned and headed south toward Kern County.
About 2:30 a.m. he crashed into the center divider of Highway 99 near Norris Road. He then hit a big rig before striking the center divider again and coming to rest on the highway median.
When CHP officers found him, he already had shot himself in the head, Dyer said. Vang was later pronounced dead at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield.
Vang's ex-wife, who is 18, and their two children -- a 2 1/2-year-old boy and 1 1/2-year-old girl -- were not injured, Dyer said.
Vang was already on probation for domestic violence involving his ex-wife, Dyer said. About a year ago, she left him and moved to Fresno with their two children.
Dyer said trouble was brewing, because Vang confronted his ex-wife Monday in Fresno and forced her and their son into his vehicle. "Vang struck the victim, pulled her hair and threatened to kill her in a field," Dyer said.
She jumped out of the moving truck and escaped, but she had to leave her son in the vehicle, Dyer said.
The next day, Vang's father told the young woman she could pick up her son and her purse at a relative's home, Dyer said.
Early Friday, Vang went to his ex-wife's home armed with a handgun, Dyer said. He then forced her and the two children into a car and sped off.
Using cellular phone technology, Dyer said, police were able to track Vang's movements on Highway 99.
According to Dyer, Vang told his ex-wife that he didn't want to go back to jail and that he would rather kill himself. While traveling 70 mph, Vang then placed a .22-caliber handgun to his head and pulled the trigger, Dyer said.
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