Farmworker gunned down as he picked up co-worker in central Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Someone gunned down a 33-year-old farmworker as he picked up his crew in central Fresno Monday morning.

The Chevy Suburban surrounded by police in the morning arrived at this corner a couple hours earlier to pick up a farmworker. As she loaded up to head to the fields, her morning took a frightening turn.

"When I put my cooler in the back, I see a van at the stop sign and then it gives a turn and then it stops right next to him and that's when I start hearing the popping sound which was the gunshots," the witness said.

She rushed to the front and found Rodolfo Cruz gasping for air. The woman didn't want to be identified, but she tells Action News Cruz picks up five to eight people every morning and then they go out near Dinuba to pick nectarines.

She's usually his first passenger, and he usually has his windows open, like he did Monday morning. Police collected evidence and questioned witnesses at the scene and they've learned a little about Cruz.

"At this point, there is no indication whatsoever that this is gang-related," said Fresno police Sgt. Andre Benson.

Investigators say Cruz was unarmed and just headed to work. His co-worker says he has a family with young children. She's only known him for a couple months but says he was a good friend and a hard worker.

"It's just hard to believe a person like him has passed away," she said.

She saw at least two people in the van, but so far, police haven't identified any suspects. Fresno has had 35 homicides so far in 2017, almost double the 18 in the city at this time last year.