Fresno man identified as victim in fatal head-on crash with fleeing hit-run suspect

A 58-year-old Fresno man has been identified as the victim in a fatal collision that closed a section of Golden State Boulevard Thursday morning.

The Fresno County Coroner’s Office confirmed the identity of the driver killed as Joe Silva.

Police said Silva was driving on Golden State near Ashlan Avenue just before 7 a.m. when another vehicle crossed into the southbound lane and slammed head-on into Silva’s pickup truck.

Silva died as firefighters attempted to cut him from the crumpled truck, police reported at the time.

The driver of the second vehicle is suspected to have been involved in a hit-and-run on Highway 180 just minutes before and was fleeing the scene of that crash at a high rate of speed, causing him to loose control, police said.

He is facing vehicular manslaughter and other other charges.

This story was originally published January 20, 2022 at 2:15 PM.