A California police lieutenant issued a public statement after a tragedy occurred in Fresno. Police had received a phone call from a person at a hotel who had reportedly witnessed a gruesome scene in the parking lot. The witness told police that the driver of a pickup truck had begun backing out of a parking space when she noticed the remains of a human body underneath the vehicle. Police later determined that the vehicle had been involved in a fatal collision involving a pedestrian.
The police lieutenant who spoke with reporters said that the incident the witness saw in the parking lot was captured on hotel surveillance footage. However, due to the tragic and horrific details of the situation, the lieutenant said that the police department will not be releasing the film footage to the public. Preliminary investigations have led police to determine that a 24-year-old woman had been walking her dog when she was struck by a pickup truck, which then kept traveling for at least eight miles before coming to a stop in the hotel parking lot.
The driver of the pickup truck remains at large
Police issued a public message to the man who is seen on surveillance footage getting behind the wheel of the pickup truck. The man was instructed to turn himself in at the police department. Police also encouraged anyone who recognizes the man or knows his whereabouts to call the police.
Sadly, this is not the first fatal collision involving a pedestrian in California. The sudden death of a loved one brings devastation upon the families who are left grieving their losses. Many such cases lead to litigation because state law allows an immediate family member to seek restitution against those deemed responsible for their loved one’s death.