Man faces additional charges in death of 8-year-old girl who was struck by a vehicle

More charges were filed in the death of an 8-year-old girl who was fatally struck by a driver in the fog last week in Fresno County.

A man who had been in the same vehicle as the 8-year-old now faces a felony charge of child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge for violating a protective order. He bonded out of Fresno County Jail Thursday night.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said Juan Del Toro Ramirez, 51, allegedly was assaulting his wife in the SUV, which contributed to her 8-year-old daughter getting out of the vehicle.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies were called late Friday night to the area of Friant Road north of Willow Avenue for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle.

While on scene, officers learned the 8-year-old girl had been struck and killed after getting out of her mom’s SUV and walking into the path of an oncoming vehicle while in the fog.

The driver who struck the little girl is an 82-year-old man. Deputies said he immediately made a report to law enforcement and stayed on scene to cooperate.

Through their investigation, sheriffs determined Del Toro Ramirez was a passenger in the Toyota SUV that was driven by his 22-year-old wife. Her two daughters, ages eight and two, also were in the vehicle.

As the wife was driving on Friant Road, Del Toro Ramirez repeatedly assaulted her, causing her to pull over and park, deputies said.

According to authorities, Del Toro Ramirez continued to attack his wife when her 8-year-old exited the vehicle and was then fatally struck.

The couple made a brief attempt to find the girl, but were unable to locate her.

A short time later, they saw law enforcement vehicles responding to the area and discovered the girl had been fatally struck.

The coroner’s office released the girl’s name late Saturday afternoon, but The Bee does not normally identify family members of alleged victims of abuse.

California Highway Patrol arrested the mother for misdemeanor DUI and Del Toro Ramirez was arrested by Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies for misdemeanor battery.

Deputies later determined that Del Toro Ramirez had an active restraining order and should not have been around his wife or her children prior to the incident.

Sheriff’s investigators said his violent actions also contributed to the child getting out of the vehicle and ultimately being struck by a passing motorist.

Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Detective Lindsay Kitchens at 559-600-8216 or Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7867, or on the Valley Crime Stoppers website.

This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 9:29 PM.