On Monday, June 15th, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office disclosed in an accident report that a man died after crashing his car into a train during a police chase in Fowler, California. Carlos Charles Cruz, 26, of Parlier, passed away from a gunshot wound inflicted on himself after the collision.
The sheriff’s office said that the events that led to the man’s death began around 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 13th. About that time, officers responded to a 911 call reporting gunshots at a home on 200-block of north 5th Street.
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When the lawmen arrived at the scene, they found two people identified as Rafael Garcia, 42, and Jonathan Garcia, 16, suffering from gunshot wounds inflicted by Cruz. The two are relatives of the man’s estranged wife, and they died at the scene.
The Fowler Police Department then released the then-suspect’s name to law enforcement agencies and contacted the sheriff’s office to take over the homicide investigation. Shortly after 5:30 p.m., Reedley Police officers saw a black Subaru belonging to Cruz and attempted a traffic stop.
The man refused to pull over, and he fled westbound in the eastbound lanes of Manning Avenue at top speed. Around 5:45 p.m., officers arrived at the intersection of Manning and De Wolf Avenue and saw that Cruz’s Subaru collided with the third engine located to the front of a passing train. The first responders found him in the car, with what appeared to be a gunshot wound.
The police recovered a handgun at the accident scene, and they are keeping the investigation active. Anyone with information should contact the sheriff’s office or crime stoppers if they wish to remain anonymous.
Disclaimer: The Safety Watch article you just read includes information obtained from numerous sources. These sources include, but are not limited to, websites and press releases from law enforcement, the county coroner, fire departments, and other news outlets. While we strive to provide readers with the most accurate information, sometimes the information received is not entirely accurate. For complete details, please refer to an official police report.
The articles published contain sensitive subject matter that may be hard to read by some. We understand that losing a loved one is hard and devastating. Safety Watch’s decision to share the stories is to help others who may be facing the same situations by providing appropriate resources to the general public.