Search fatalities

Robert Makoni

Age : 48

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 03/11/2021

Location : West Avenue and Bullard Avenue

City : Fresno

County : Fresno

State : California

Agency : Fresno Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed in police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Fresno police responded to a welfare check involving Robert Makoni sitting alone inside a utility van near Marks and Browning avenues. Officers contacted Makoni and initially described him as compliant. Makoni then drove away at high speed. Officers pursued for a short distance in an attempt to stop him but terminated the pursuit because of his speed.
NARRATIVE:
On 03/11/2021, 48-year-old Robert Makoni was killed when the Penske rental van he was driving crashed at West Avenue and Bullard Avenue shortly after a Fresno Police Department pursuit.

At approximately 3:12 p.m., Fresno police received a request to conduct a welfare check on a man sitting inside a vehicle near Marks and Browning avenues. Responding officers located Makoni alone in the driver's seat of a utility van and contacted him. Police Lt. Rob Beckwith said Makoni initially complied with officers before suddenly driving away.

Makoni drove east on Bullard Avenue at high speed. Fresno police officers attempted to catch up with him and pursued the van for a short distance while attempting to stop him. According to Beckwith, officers terminated the pursuit because of Makoni's speed.

Makoni continued east on Bullard Avenue after police disengaged. Shortly before 3:30 p.m., he approached West Avenue. Witnesses told investigators that Makoni entered the intersection against a red traffic signal and collided with another vehicle that was turning south onto West Avenue.

The impact caused Makoni's van to overturn and strike a streetlight at the southeast corner of the intersection. The van caught fire. Witnesses attempted to reach Makoni but were unable to remove him because of the flames. Makoni died at the scene.

The driver of the other vehicle complained of pain and was transported to Community Regional Medical Center. Police reported that the driver's injuries were not life-threatening.
.
The Fresno County Coroner's Office subsequently identified the deceased driver as Robert Makoni, 48, of Oceanside. The coroner reported that Makoni had been in the process of moving to Fresno.

The 03/11/2021 Fresno County fatality documented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System corresponds with this independently documented fatal crash involving Robert Makoni.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article249876468.html
https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/fatality-analysis-reporting-system-fars