Fresno man in custody over fatal hit-and-run that killed 70-year-old pedestrian
A 25-year-old man who falsely reported his vehicle as stolen is accused of committing Thursday’s hit-and-run that killed a 70-year-old pedestrian, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Friday.
Dyer said Matthew Hiram Chenot was booked at the Fresno County Jail on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, felony DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter charges.
Charges are expected to be filed with the Fresno County District Attorney’s office on Monday.
The victim was identified as Ram Bhatia, who had just turned 70 last month, and had celebrated his 45th wedding anniversary, Dyer said during a Friday afternoon press conference. “This is an unfortunate tragedy,” he said.
Around 6:24 p.m. Thursday, police received a 911 call regarding a man lying on the roadway, in the area between Friant Road and Copper River Drive. It appeared the victim had been struck by vehicle, Dyer said.
Bhatia was pronounced dead at the scene.
The collision reconstructive unit and hit-and-run detectives at the scene determined the suspect vehicle was BMW, from a piece of weather stripping at the scene.
Ironically, Dyer said, about 12 minutes after the collision, police received a call, reporting a stolen BMW in the parking lot of a nearby Applebee’s. The caller, who identified himself as Chenot, stated he left the keys in his car at the parking lot.
Chenot was the registered owner of the vehicle.
Detectives located Chenot’s cell phone and called him, but he didn’t answer. Dyer said police dispatchers were able to track that the original call came from the area near Auberry Road, west of Millerton Road.
Detectives made their way toward that area, and at around 9:30 p.m. — about 6.5 miles from the collision’s location — detectives noticed a woman and a man walking on the roadway, he said.
Detectives approached the individuals, and were able to determine the man was Chenot, after he denied it.
“Through additional investigative work, our detectives were able to determine that Mathew Chenot as well as another female had been at the Applebee’s restaurant earlier in the evening,” Dyer said.
“We have video of them sitting at a booth and consuming alcohol. Prior to that, we were also able to determine that this female and Matthew (Chenot) were at Pine Flat (lake) and they had been consuming alcohol at that location as well.”
Chenot and the female passenger were traveling at about 60 mph northbound on Friant Road when they struck Bhatia, Dyer said. The speed limit in the area is 55 miles per hour.
The pair had been heading to Table Mountain Casino. About 15 miles from the crash, the car began to break down and the pair pulled over. At that time, Dyer said, is when Chenot decided to report his vehicle as stolen.
“When interviewing Chenot, he told detectives that he knew that he had struck an object and that it could have been a person,” Dyer said.
But after detectives interviewed the female, who police did not identify, it was stated that the pair had a conversation where it was clear Chenot knew he had ran over a person and did not stop, he said.
“Without a doubt, he knew he had hit a human being,” Dyer said.
Toward the end of the press conference, Dyer read an emotional email from the victim’s son, where he said his father believed in living a healthy lifestyle.
His father was coming back from his regular evening walk, he son’s email said.
“I can’t believe the same healthy lifestyle made him at risk of losing his life,” the email read. “I’m still in denial. I still feel he will be back from his walk.”
Dyer described the area where the crash happened as “well lit,” adding that it’s generally regarded as a safe area.
This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 4:34 PM.
.jpg)