Alleged gang member flees from CHP, crashes and kills Clovis woman in downtown Fresno
The woman killed in a crash with a man fleeing a California Highway Patrol officer Wednesday was identified Thursday afternoon by the Fresno County Coroner as Hannah Pimentel, 19, of Clovis.
The crash happened around 3 p.m. near Stanislaus and N streets, where Fresno Police said a man believed to be a Bulldog gang member drove a black Ford Fusion at a high rate of speed and fatally struck a woman in a black BMW.
The man, who had been driving the wrong way down a one-way street, then took off running and has yet to be located. That prompted a lockdown of a nearby school, Lowell Elementary.
Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama said that during the pursuit, the suspect tossed an AR-15 out the car window and in front of the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office. It was unclear if the man had any other weapons.
Balderrama said the chase began in Chinatown after the CHP officer, who is part of the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), pulled over the man, who was wanted for several weapons violations.
The suspect initially pulled over, but as the CHP officer got out of his vehicle and started to approach the Fusion, the driver took off quickly.
The officer followed the Fusion for a few blocks but eventually lost the suspect, Balderrama said.
A few blocks later, Balderrama said, the CHP officer located the Fusion after noticing a cloud of smoke, where the fleeing vehicle had collided with the woman driving a BMW. The woman died at the scene, according to police.
The suspect, meanwhile, jumped out of the car and ran north.
“We’re still looking for the suspect,” Balderrama said. “We have a good identity on him. We don’t want to release it just yet.
“We’re hoping to apprehend that person very, very soon.”
The suspect remained outstanding Thursday afternoon.
This story was originally published May 12, 2021 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Alleged gang member flees from CHP, crashes and kills Clovis woman in downtown Fresno."