Witnesses rush to save man who crashed after being shot in the face in Southeast Fresno
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A man remains in the hospital Sunday after police say he was shot in southeast Fresno and rolled his car down an embankment on the Highway 41 off-ramp to Tulare Avenue.
Alberto Cruz was inside his girlfriend's apartment when the shooting happened.
"Everything happened so quick," he said. "I just heard the shots."
So, he looked out the window and then ran out the door.
"And I see two people running," Cruz said.
And that's when he watched the injured driver of the car speed off an embankment and land on Highway 41's northbound off-ramp to Tulare Avenue.
"He crashed into the tree and the flipped over and started going through the little hill," Cruz recalled.
While Cruz's friend took out his phone and recorded, he rushed down to help.
"This is not the first time I've seen something like this," he said. "I've seen crashes. I stop and help them."
But he was not alone, at least seven other Good Samaritans stopped to assist as well.
"Anything could happen," Cruz exclaimed. "It can explode, he can die if we don't help him."
The video shows Cruz climbing on top of the car in an attempt to help pull the man out.
"He was bleeding from the eye, from the left," he said. "And I think his hand, he was bleeding from there. He was conscious but in a lot of pain."
Cruz said a probation officer who happened to be passing by began treating the victim, while another man directed traffic until CHP showed up.
"We tried to help him as much as we can," he said.
Fresno police say the man in his 20s was shot in an alley behind an apartment complex near Platt and Callish Street. Witnesses say the female suspect pulled the trigger while standing behind a gate.
Police are unsure what the two were doing before the shooting took place, but Cruz is sure that the victim has a lot to be thankful for.
"He is very lucky," Cruz said. "And if he knows who did this, just come up front and tell the officer this is what happened."
