Hit-and-Run Driver in Turlock Crash ID’d as Francisco Javier Castellon-Gonzalez, 22
TURLOCK, CA (May 4, 2021) – Authorities detained Francisco Castellon-Gonzalez after a fatal hit-and-run crash in Turlock
Police identified the 22-year-old Modesto man as the suspect of the accident that killed a bicycle rider on Monday, May 3.
The incident began when Francisco Javier Castellon-Gonzalez was speeding on Lander Avenue in Turlock. At the same time, Juan Moralez was riding a bicycle east across the street.
Police said Francisco Castellon-Gonzalez then hit the 50-year-old Turlock man with his white 2009 GMC pickup truck. The bicyclist crossed the 400 block of Lander Avenue when the car struck him.
The collision occurred at around 12:30 a.m. Juan Moralez ended up suffering from several spinal fractures, multiple fractures throughout his body and a crushed skull as a result of the crash.
Juan Moralez, 50, Hit and Killed on Lander Avenue
Paramedics rushed the rider to a local hospital, where they declared him brain dead. The Modesto Bee and Turlock Journal wrote that medical personnel soon took off his life support.
Family members set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the funeral expenses of the victim. Meanwhile, Turlock police affirmed that Castellon-Gonzalez did not stop to render aid and fled the area.
Witnesses followed him but he continued driving. He lost control and then crashed his GMC on Crows Landing Road. The man left his pickup truck in the roadway and ran away.
Authorities soon located and arrested him on charges of hit-and-run causing injury and vehicular manslaughter. They booked the suspect into the Stanislaus County Jail.
The Turlock hit-and-run crash is still under investigation. Anyone with information can call the police at (209) 664-7399 or (209) 668-5550 extension 6780; or the CrimeStoppers at (209) 521-4636.
“Johnson Attorneys Group does not represent any of the parties mentioned above; nor is it our intent to represent any of the parties. If you would like to contribute to this story, please contact us.”
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