FRESNO, Calif. ( Associated Press) — A man suspected of killing a woman by running him over with his vehicle in a central California city, an incident in which the victim’s body was dragged more than 13 kilometers (eight miles), is in critical condition after jumping from the third level of a house as police officers tried to arrest him, authorities said.
Fresno police Lt. Brian Valles told the Fresno Bee that 38-year-old Shawn Ginder was taken into custody by the Madera County Sheriff’s Office Friday night.
According to Fresno police, Ginder jumped from the third floor of a home in Bass Lake, a town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Fresno, where Friday’s hit-and-run occurred, and was taken to a hospital where he was declared him in critical condition.
In a social media post, the Fresno Police Department said the hit-and-run suspect was in the custody of Madera County police, but provided no further information.
Madera County police referred all questions to the Fresno Police Department, which did not respond to messages seeking comment Saturday.
According to police, the 29-year-old woman who was struck was pushing a shopping cart and walking her dog on a leash when she was struck by a silver pickup truck at the intersection of Herndon and Millburn avenues in Fresno.
The truck driver did not stop and dragged the woman’s body several miles to a hotel parking lot.
At the hotel, the driver parked the vehicle, got out and went to the lobby to ask for a room, Fresno police said. Told there were no rooms available, the man was about to return to his truck when a hotel guest saw the woman’s remains dislodge from under the vehicle and called police.
Hours after the woman’s body was found, officers located Ginder’s truck, which was badly damaged, at a Fresno apartment complex where Ginder lives, Valles said. Later Friday, Madera County deputies found Ginder at the Bass Lake home.
Police said the woman has been identified and is believed to be homeless, but her name will not be released at this time out of respect for her and her loved ones.
