Wednesday, Apr. 21, 2010

Arrest made in hit-and-run incident

Case dates back to Nov. 9, 2009.

A local man was captured after being on the run since November.

Thirty-nine-year-old Jose Jesus Garcia, wanted by the Chowchilla Police Department for being involved in a hit and run accident, was arrested April 12. The Chowchilla Police Department received information related to the case and later Garcia was located in Merced.

Following his arrest, Garcia was booked into the Madera County Jail on charges of hit and run causing death.

Garcia was arrested for his alleged involvement in a traffic accident that occurred in the 100 block of Canal Drive in Chowchilla. The single car accident occurred on Nov. 9, at approximately 11:24 p.m.

According to police reports, Garcia was driving a 1993 Mazda MX 6. He was traveling north on Autumn Way at an undermined speed. Garcia failed to make the turn onto Canal Drive causing the vehicle to travel through the front yard of a home on Canal, hitting a car in the driveway, crashing through a garage door, colliding with a pickup in the garage. The accident caused damage to vehicles parked in the residence driveway and in the garage. The accident also took out a wall of the garage which caused major damage to the structure.

Garcia was last seen running from the vehicle after the crash.

A passenger, 28-year-old Jason Duckwald, was airlifted to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno where he remained until his death on Jan. 31, 2010.

Police had been search for Garcia since the accident in November.

Sgt. Dave Riviere of the Chowchilla Police Department commended those willing to get involved by doing their part to assist in this arrest. He encouraged residents to continue to be involved citizens.

"It makes our community a better and safer place to live," Riviere stated.