Man faces murder charge for 2nd fatal crash in Fresno County. He’s accused of DUI
A 27-year-old Reedley man will face a murder charge for an alleged drunk driving crash that killed a teen, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.
Daniel Lemus drove with a blood alcohol concentration higher than 0.15%, the DA’s office said, when he rear-ended another car driven by a 17-year-old about 1 a.m. Nov. 7.
The teen, Christian Crabb of Kingsburg, died Nov. 10, according to the Fresno County Coroner’s Office.
Lemus is set to be arraigned on Monday and faces seven counts, including murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and aggravated circumstances, among others, according to prosecutors.
Lemus was in custody on Wednesday. It was not clear if he yet had an attorney.
The aggravated circumstances stem from 2021, when Lemus was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and driving without a license when he rear-ended a car, killing 8-year-old Eliseo Saldana. Investigators said alcohol did not appear to be a factor in that crash.
In the new case from Nov. 7, the DA’s office said Lemus was headed east on Manning Avenue approaching Mendocino Avenue on the southern edge of Parlier and ran into the rear of a car stopped at a red light.
He then fled the crash on Mendocino Avenue and about two miles later crashed into a Ford Mustang driven by the 17-year-old near Mendocino and Rose Avenue, seriously injuring the teen, according to prosecutors. Crabb died three days later.
About a month before that crash, Lemus had been arrested in the city of Selma and accused of DUI, the DA’s office said. He failed to stop at a stop sign and was arrested and accused of DUI by police, prosecutors said.
His license was confiscated following the Selma arrest. Charges related to that arrest were included among the seven counts, according to the DA’s office.
Lemus remained in Fresno County Jail on Wednesday without bail, records showed.
