Civil complaint alleges Fresno tow truck driver in fatal Friant crash was under the influence

Robert Rodriguez
·2 min read
One of the stoplights at Friant and Shepherd avenues on Thursday, April 13, 2023, where accidents occur regularly, according to a resident with a camera trained on the intersection.

The tow truck driver who ran a red light and killed a 22-year-old Fresno woman in a car crash at Friant Road and Shepherd Avenue last month is alleged to have been under the influence of a controlled substance, according to a civil complaint filed by the family.

Police said the crash happened at about 1 a.m. April 12 as John Ashcraft, a tow truck driver with 1st Class Tow, ran through a red light at Friant Road, slamming into a sedan driven by Amaya Chenot, who died at the scene.

Neighbors in the area have seen several crashes happen at that intersection. One resident installed a security camera to keep track of the red light runners and wrecks.

“It was a horrific and terrible accident,” said Warren Paboojian, attorney for Kimberly Chenot, Amaya’s mother. “This intersection has had some terrible accidents in the years past and we are investigating this intersection and the conduct of the driver.”

In the complaint, filed Friday in Fresno County Superior Court, it is alleged Ashcraft took a controlled substance 24 hours before he crashed into Amaya Chenot.

The complaint doesn’t explain what the substance is or how the plaintiffs know Ashcraft had taken it.

Ashcraft should have known that taking a substance would have impaired his ability to drive a tow truck, according to the complaint.

“John Ashcraft willfully and deliberately failed to avoid these consequences, took the substances into his body, thereafter drove a tow truck and ran his vehicle through a red light that had been red for approximately 12 seconds and struck and killed Amaya Chenot,” the complaint states.

A civil complaint represents one side in a case.

Ashcraft could not be reached for comment Monday and it’s still unclear if he will face charges for Chenot’s death.

Taylor P. Long, public information officer for the district attorney, said prosecutors have not yet received the case for review.

The civil complaint seeks punitive damages along with damages for medical expenses, burial costs, and for wrongful death. The complaint doesn’t include a monetary figure.