Two officers were hurt, a suspect rammed a home with a car and residents were evacuated this morning in a normally quiet northeast Fresno neighborhood.
"We've never really heard of anything like this going on before on this street and there's a lot of kids on this street and families and so it was pretty shocking to hear," said a nearby resident Marissa Webber.
It all started with a report of a suspicious vehicle in the area of Chestnut and Fremont. When officers arrived they found three people asleep inside a SUV -- a man, woman and 7-year-old child.
The woman and child were removed from the vehicle, but when officers ran the man's name in their database they reportedly discovered he had a warrant out for his arrest.
When officers tried to arrest the man, they say he tried to drive off.
"One of the officers was holding the steering wheel, again fighting with the suspect telling him to stop multiple times, drug the officer about 60 feet and the vehicle then crashed into the home," said Lt. Don Gross with the Fresno Police Department.
That officer was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Another officer sustained minor injuries while arresting the suspect, whom police say had to be tased several times before he was finally subdued.
"{We're} very, very lucky that our officers were not hurt worse, that the female and the child were not hurt worse, that the suspect was not hurt worse," said Lt. Gross.
A gas line was ruptured when the SUV struck the home.
Several neighbors were evacuated for about 15 minutes until crews were able to shut off the gas line and normalcy was once again restored to this otherwise quiet neighborhood.
"To wake up and see this I think everyone's reaction is pretty shocked," said Webber.
Police arrested 24-year-old John Behnken on assault and drug charges, as well as an out of state felony warrant. 22-year-old Kayleigh Lugrain was cited and released for resisting arrest.
TXT 24
Twitter
Facebook