Woman and 9-year-old son dead after crash that sent car into canal in central Fresno: Officials

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A mother and son are both dead after a 2 am crash in Central Fresno after investigators say a Honda Pilot hit her SUV, sending it into the Dry Creek Canal off McKinley Avenue near Highway 41.

"They went to work, and they ended up pulling a female victim out of the car, performing lifesaving efforts," said Fresno Fire Chief Billy Alcorn.

Alcorn said 41-year-old Martha Hernandez later died at the hospital, and hours later, crews learned her nine-year-old son, Adrian Hernandez, was also in the vehicle.

"Our crews came back out to the scene, participated in bringing the vehicle out of the canal and then started a search of the entire canal system," Alcorn said.

The operation lasted for hours, with crews at one point using a drone. First responders tried to estimate where the boy's body would be, eventually finding it two miles downstream.

"They strategically placed responders in numerous different locations where we have caught people in the past, and so that was one of the locations, just local knowledge of where to go," Alcorn said.

The recovery operation is now a police investigation, and Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto confirmed investigators are still looking for the surviving driver from the other vehicle.

"We received information from a witness who saw the collision and saw the driver, that he appeared intoxicated," Casto said.

On Monday, Action News learned surveillance video from a nearby business, a carwash, captured the crash. The owner said he would be turning it in to the police.

Casto said more information will be shared as the investigation proceeds.

"We're following up on numerous significant leads in this case and expect to have a suspect identified, and as soon as we're able to do that, we will certainly let you know," Casto said.

For news updates, follow Gabe Ferris on Facebook, X and Instagram.