Calls for change continue at northeast Fresno intersection after deadly crash

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno Police are continuing the investigation into an accident that killed 22-year-old Amaya Chenot at the Friant-Shepherd intersection in northeast Fresno last month.

Police said they're still waiting on toxicology reports before anything is sent to the district attorney's office regarding charges.

While that investigation continues, more accidents have been caught on camera.

"The light was red for about 5 seconds before he went through the intersection so it's definitely still a problem, still an issue," said Dan Wells.

Wells and his son set up a camera in their backyard overlooking the intersection about 5 months ago. They post the videos to their YouTube Channel, FriantRoulette.

"We've had fifteen accidents within 5 months," said Wells.

Fresno Police don't keep statistics on individual intersections but said last year there were 896 red light citations issued across the city. According to the Federal Highway Administration in 2020 1,053 people died across the country in crashes where a driver ran a red light.

After the April 12th collision at Shepherd and Friant that killed Chenot, police patrols increased in the area.

"As an agency, we patrol these areas to prevent these accidents or collisions from happening," said Officer Christopher Clark, FPD.

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That deadly crash pushed Wells and a group of his neighbors to reach out to the city asking for changes to the intersection.

Wells thinks there are several ways to make the intersection safer, such as increasing the delay after a light turns red and getting rid of the green arrow from Friant onto Shepherd.

"We'd like to just change it to a flashing yellow," said Wells.

City Council member Garry Bredefeld believes drivers are the problem, not the intersection itself.

"There just simply hasn't been the accountability of catching people who are running red lights and that's a big problem in the city," said Bredefeld.

Bredefeld said the city will meet with the concerned neighbors and traffic engineers about the intersection later this month.

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