Murder charges filed against Fresno man who allegedly fled from police, caused deadly crash

Murder charges were filed Friday against the Fresno driver who was arrested for allegedly killing a man while trying to flee from police.

Andrew Calderon, 40, faces 35 years to life in prison if convicted.

According to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, Calderon was stopped by police for a minor vehicle code violation late Wednesday night but sped off after having been stopped for several minutes.

Calderon drove through a red light and caused a crash that killed another motorist at Shields Avenue and First Street, according to Fresno Police.

The officers who had pulled over Calderon initially tried chasing him but quickly terminated the pursuit due to the high rate of speed, police said.

Following an investigation, Fresno Police determined Calderon was driving under the combined influence of alcohol and methamphetamine.

In addition to the murder charge, Calderon faces:

• One count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated with prior convictions for driving under the influence.
• One count of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and a drug causing great bodily injury.
• One county of evading causing death.

The victim of the deadly crash was identified as Victor Cardenas, 29, of Fresno.

This story was originally published February 10, 2023 at 9:18 PM.