October 27, 2024 – Fresno County Sheriff's Office officials report that at 8:32 p.m. on Friday, a deputy attempted to make a traffic stop on a car near Shields and Hughes. The driver refused to pull over and sped away. He made several turns at moderate speeds around neighborhoods in the Fruit and Gettysburg area.

At one point he let two passengers out and continued to Shaw and then went north on Palm at higher speeds. At 8:46 p.m., he ran a red light and a Lexus SUV headed east on Sierra crashed into the side of his car. The suspect lost control, crashed into a fire hydrant, clipped a power pole and took out a tree before his vehicle came to rest on Palm. Deputies were able to get the suspect to crawl out of his car and place him under arrest.

He was taken to the hospital for treatment and then booked into jail. He is identified as 49-year-old Jimmy Cervelli of Fresno. He has an extensive arrest record and recently spent time in prison for convictions of burglary and grand theft. He is currently on parole.

The man and woman in the Lexus were able to walk away from the crash with mild pain.

Source & photos: Fresno County Sheriff's Office

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