Fresno man killed in multi-car hit-and-run. At least two drivers left scene, police say

UPDATE: The Fresno County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Felipe Balero, 40.

ORIGINAL STORY: At least two drivers left the scene after striking a man late Saturday on Shields Avenue in Fresno, the Police Department reported.

“When we arrived, we located a homeless male in the middle of the roadway who had been struck by multiple vehicles,” said Fresno Police Lt. Charlie Chamalbide. “Several of them had left the scene. The last one that hit him, she stuck around and called the police. We have no information regarding the first vehicles that hit him, other than the first one that hit him was a white truck.”

Chamalbide said that two other vehicles might have hit the victim before fleeing the scene. There was a gap between the collisions, which occurred shortly before midnight between Tielman and Channing avenues.

“From what we can see from a camera in the area that he was in the middle of the roadway attempting to cross with a bunch of items, and he’s hit by the first vehicle,” Chamalbide said.

“Then there’s a lull, and several minutes later another vehicle appears to hit him, and he also leaves and then several minutes later another vehicle comes by, and it’s hard to tell if he hit him and the last one that shows up, there’s a female that hit him, and she stuck around and called police.”

The driver of the truck that first hit the victim slowed but did not stop. All of the vehicles were headed east.

“We have our reconstruction unit out here trying to determine exactly what happened,” Chamalbide said. “They’re downloading video from several houses, so we might be able to get a better view of what actually happened. Right now, everything is preliminary. What I was told is that you can see from an angle, so it’s hard to tell, some kind of truck hits him, and he’s in the middle of the roadway.”

This story was originally published July 11, 2021 at 6:03 AM.