Man arrested in fatal 3-vehicle crash in southeast Fresno to face manslaughter charges

Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Man arrested in fatal 3-vehicle crash in southeast Fresno to face manslaughter charges
Man arrested in fatal 3-vehicle crash in southeast Fresno to face manslaughter charges

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Rocky LaJoie of Clovis is being held on several counts including gross vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence.



Officers say he hit two cars around 7 p.m. Sunday night before he was arrested.



A 19-year-old from LA who was in town visiting friends was killed.



Officers describe the crash as a series of chain reactions caused by a driver who was under the influence.



"After it struck the first vehicle and it went into a PG&E pole and flipped over, and then the suspect's vehicle went across the lanes of traffic striking the other vehicle traveling southbound," said Lt. Mark Hudson.



RELATED: Driver arrested for DUI after deadly 3-vehicle crash in southeast Fresno



Investigators aren't sure where Rocky LaJoie was headed or where he was coming from Sunday. But he failed a field sobriety test.



The Major Accident Investigative Team was called out to take measurements and collect evidence at the scene.



Officers say all occupants of the Jeep were trapped upside down when officers arrived, including the passenger who died.



"I know that the 19-year-old decedent was the passenger in the middle behind the driver and passenger in the truck, so he was in the middle second seat of the Jeep Cherokee," Lt. Hudson said.



A 10-year-old and their grandparents in a Nissan Xterra were also hit but uninjured during the second crash.



LaJoie remains in the Fresno County Jail, one of the counts he's being held on is speeding. But the most serious are the felony charges related to driving while under the influence of alcohol.



Already this year, Fresno Police officers have investigated nine fatal crashes compared to seven at the same time last year.

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