2 young men killed in separate Fresno freeway crashes

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Two young Fresno men were killed in separate crashes on Fresno-area freeways.

Jeremiah Farmer, 19, was killed on Highway 41 near the Ashlan Avenue overpass at around 10:30 Thursday night. According to the California Highway Patrol, he pulled over to change a flat tire. It apparently rolled into traffic.

CHP spokesman Axel Reyes told Action News, "When he (Farmer) went out into the lanes he was struck by a vehicle, he landed in the fast lane, he was run over by a couple other vehicles and sustained fatal injuries from that."

Reyes said drivers of three vehicles pulled over, all thinking they had run over a tire in the road, but had in fact run over the young man's body. The CHP is considering it a hit-and-run since the initial vehicle that hit Farmer did not stop.

Two hours later, a head-on collision on Highway 180 near the Fowler Avenue exit claimed the life of Cesar David Romero Vera, 21. He was driving east on the freeway when he collided with another car going the wrong way, heading west in the eastbound lanes.

Romero Vera was killed. His 24-year-old sister, Maria, was riding with him and suffered major injuries.

"The driver of the other vehicle sustained minor injuries but was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol," Reyes said.

The driver of the wrong-way vehicle is identified as Gurpinder Gill. He is 26 years old, from Fresno. In addition to being charged with driving under the influence, he is expected to be charged with vehicular homicide.

The Highway Patrol is looking for witnesses to both accidents. They are especially interested in finding the driver of the first car that hit Farmer on Highway 41.