Pedestrian killed by Clovis fire vehicle identified. It was headed to an emergency call
The pedestrian killed by a Clovis Fire Department vehicle responding to a call for service was identified Wednesday by the Fresno County Coroner’s Office.
Melchor Mendoza, 62, of Clovis was about 200 feet north of a crosswalk at Barstow and Clovis avenues when he began to cross the street, the coroner and California Highway Patrol said.
He was walking with a woman about 9 p.m. Tuesday as they walked to the edge of Clovis Avenue, where the woman stopped, CHP said.
Mendoza continued to cross as a marked fire department pickup truck, a 2021 Ford F-250, was headed north with lights and sirens going as it responded to a Fourth of July-related call, CHP said.
Such vehicles are usually driven by a supervisor. The driver was not identified by the CHP on Wednesday other than that he was a 50-year-old man.
Mendoza stepped into the roadway, and the truck driver could not avoid a collision, CHP said. The pedestrian died at the scene from his injuries.
A toxicology report on the man was pending, according to a news release.
CHP investigators took over the case on request from the Clovis Police Department. the Clovis Fire Department declined a request for comment on Wednesday, deferring to Clovis police.
This story was originally published July 5, 2023 at 1:50 PM.
