Witness saw hit-run truck flee on McKinley

A tip from a witness is providing new information for detectives investigating a fatal Monday hit-and-run collision in southeast Fresno, police reported Tuesday.

An 83-year-old man in a wheelchair identified as Jose Rodriguez died in the noon crash. Police are seeking the driver of a white pickup who fled after the collision at Cedar and Floradora avenues, as well as the driver of a gray Acura who may have been racing the truck. While police previously believed that the pickup was either a Chevrolet or Dodge and that it sped north on Cedar to Princeton Avenue after the crash, it’s possible that the driver fled east on McKinley Avenue, Lt. Joe Gomez said Tuesday.

The new witness called police to report the possible breakthrough, Gomez said. The witness said when the crash took place, he was southbound on Cedar in the left-turn lane to McKinley and he saw “a cloud of dust and debris down by the tracks” and a white Dodge 1500 with black rims speeding his way at high speed. The truck turned east onto McKinley and the witness followed. The pickup then turned north on Maple Avenue at high speed and eluded the witness at Clinton Avenue.

“The witness is a body and fender worker who knows vehicles and is adamant the suspect vehicle is a Dodge 1500, two-door, built between 2000 and 2010,” Gomez said. The witness also noted that the truck had driver-side headlamp damage as well as grill and bumper damage. Previously, police were studying a video of a pickup turning at Princeton Avenue from Cedar, near McLane High School.

The department’s Collision Reconstruction Unit has been working non-stop to track down the drivers involved in the collision, Gomez said. The detectives are interviewing many people, following all tips and calculating speeds. Visalia car lots are being contacted, because some witnesses reported seeing the name of the city on the back of the pickup.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call investigator Brian Hance at (559) 621-5057. To remain anonymous, call CrimeStoppers at (559) 498-STOP.

This was the sixth fatal collision in Fresno involving a vehicle and a pedestrian in 2015. In 2014, there were 10.

This story was originally published July 21, 2015 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Witness saw hit-run truck flee on McKinley."