Driver who tried to flee Fresno police runs red light and kills a woman, police say

A female driver who was attempting to flee from police ran a red light and killed a woman and injured three others Wednesday night in central Fresno, according to Fresno Police.

Lt. Larry Bowlan said the female driver, whose identity wasn’t immediately released, led police on a high-speed chase around 5:40 p.m. on southbound Fresno Street when she ran a red light near Princeton Avenue and struck a vehicle with four people inside.

A woman sitting in the back driver’s side died a short time after being transferred to Community Regional Medical Center.

She was identified Thursday by the Fresno County Coroner’s Office as Debbie Criado, 55, of Fresno.

Bowlan added that the three other people in the struck vehicle — a female driver in her 30s, a male front-seat passenger in his 50s and a boy about 6-7 years old who was sitting in the back passenger seat — all suffered minor to moderate injuries and were listed in stable condition at CRMC.

The female driver who ran the red light had to be removed from her vehicle by emergency personnel and was listed in critical but stable condition at CRMC, Bowlan said.

The female driver, who is in her 30s, was detained at the hospital and faces possible charges from manslaughter to homicide.

She also likely will be charged with robbery, which stems from a previous incident involving her car, Bowlan said.

Detectives had been in the area of Fresno and Ashlan to conduct a search warrant related to previous robberies when the female driver spotted the police cars and took off, Bowlan said.

As detectives attempted to chase after her, a different police car that was marked tried to pull her over while its emergency lights flashed.

Ignoring the flashing lights, the female driver continued to evade from police for about a mile until crashing into the vehicle with four people inside.

Police said they still were determining whether the female driver was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The area near Fresno Street and Princeton Avenue was expected to be shut down a few hours while police investigated the scene further.

This story was originally published February 27, 2019 at 9:12 PM.