Witnesses in tears, the driver taken away in handcuffs, it was a chilling scene Wednesday night when a suspected drunk driver ran into a family of 3 bicyclists and then reportedly left the scene.
"There were flashing lights warning of pedestrians crossing," Tony Bennink, Fresno Police said.
The victim was 7-year-old Donovan Maldonado. He died from his injuries Thursday morning.
"As the suspect turned north the victim came loose from under the car, and that's where we found him," Bennink said.
The suspect is 41-year-old Loren LeBeau.
He was booked into the Fresno County Jail on $256,000 bail, but Thursday morning he posted bail and quickly left in a cab.
"He was taken into custody for drunk driving cause we had reasonable suspicion of odor of alcohol," said Bennink.
LeBeau has been a basketball coach at Central High School since 2007.
" He was a very intense individual. He cared a lot about kids," said Mike Berg, Central Unified School Superintendent.
"The family of this child has to be thought about and Mr. LeBeau's family has to be thought about. They are all suffering," said Berg.
The 7 year old boy was biking along this crosswalk with his family when police say LeBeau drove right into them, dragging the little boy several yards down Shepard Avenue.
"He struck both bicycles, and the 18 month old baby was with on the bike on the back of her father," Bennink said.
LeBeau faces multiple charges:
Felony drunk driving, felony hit and run, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, and 3 counts of bodily injury.
Police say LeBeau left the accident scene but later returned and admitted to running over the family.
"We found the car unattended and he later approached us by foot and admitted to driving the car," Bennink said.
Police say the vicitim's family did everything right; the children had their helmets on and were dressed in reflective clothing, but sadly, that couldn't prevent the accident from happening.
"Find a responsible sober driver to take you home. This is a tragedy that damaged everybody's lives," Bennink said.
