Pedestrian killed after getting struck by Fresno Police car driven by ‘seasoned’ officer
A Fresno Police officer driving a department vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian Thursday night.
The fatality occurred just before 7 p.m. just west of the intersection of Millbrook and Shields avenues in central Fresno.
Citing preliminary information, Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama said the officer was driving east on Shields when he hit a man who was walking south then suddenly stepped off the median divider and into roadway.
The victim, believed to be in his late 30s, died at the scene.
“This is a very sad situation,” Balderrama said. “Very traumatic situation for the police officer and for the (victim’s) family involved.”
Balderrama said the officer was on routine patrol while driving a police SUV, and that the scene was dark with rain pouring down at the time of the collision.
“Both of those things might have been a contributing factor,” Balderrama said of the conditions.
Balderrama added that there was no suspicion of criminal behavior.
As part of police protocol, the officer was being questioned by investigators and had his blood drawn for examination.
Investigators also planned to take a look at the black box inside the police SUV to analyze data further and try to determine what was the cause of the accident.
Neither the identity of the victim nor the officer was immediately released.
Balderrama described the cop as a seasoned officer who’d been with the department around 10 years.
“Very traumatic for him as well,” Balderrama said after speaking with the officer. “You don’t handle situations like this very well. You still know that whether you’re at fault or not — you were driving a vehicle when somebody passed away.
“That’s a very difficult thing to deal with.”
This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 8:46 PM.
