One dead in fiery crash at Fresno intersection. Police contacted driver just before
UPDATE: The driver who died in the crash has been identified as Robert Makoni, 48, of Oceanside, the Fresno County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday. Makoni was in the process of moving to Fresno, the coroner’s office said.
ORIGINAL STORY: A man died in a two-vehicle crash Thursday afternoon at a northwest Fresno intersection.
The collision at West and Bullard avenues caused a van to burst into flames, and witnesses said they heard explosions.
The crash happened just before 3:30 p.m., though the incident began before that, Fresno police Lt. Rob Beckwith said.
Around 3:12 p.m., Beckwith said, the department received a call to check on the welfare of a man inside a vehicle at Marks and Browning avenues. Officers responded and located a utility van with a man alone in the driver’s seat.
Beckwith said officers talked to the man, who was compliant but then fled from the officers in the van at a high rate of speed eastbound on Bullard from Marks.
“Officers attempted to catch up with him and pursued him for a very short distance, trying to pull him over,” Beckwith said. “However, due to the speed that the subject was driving, the officers disengaged from pursuing him.”
The Penske rental van continued east on Bullard before it collided with a vehicle that was turning south on West.
The impact of the collision caused the van to roll over and collide with a street light on the southeast corner before igniting.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Beckwith said it is the 12th fatal crash in Fresno in 2021.
Witnesses told officers the man ran a red light.
The driver in the other vehicle complained of pain and was taken to Community Regional Medical Center and is expected to be OK.
Councilmember sees chaos
Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi said he was on his way to his store on the southeast corner of West and Bullard, where the crash happened.
Karbassi said people attempted to get the driver out of the utility van, but couldn’t because of the flames.
“People were screaming, ‘Get him out of there,’” he said. “There was nothing anyone can do.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 4:32 PM.