Update: Fresno man killed in crash following disturbance with a gun at a bar identified

A driver fleeing a disturbance on Friday that also drew officers to a north Fresno parking lot died after crashing into a tree in a neighborhood, Fresno police and the California Highway Patrol said.

Someone was reported to have brandished a handgun just after 1 a.m. Friday in a parking lot outside of a bar on the northwest corner of Blackstone and Sierra avenues, the CHP said.

Before officers in cruisers could get to the scene, a Fresno police helicopter watching over the intersection saw cars dispersing, police said.

CHP said no officers were pursuing the Honda Accord and the driver in questions, but he continued at a high rate of speed west on Sierra Avenue.

He made an unsafe movement on a dirt shoulder on Sierra west of Forkner Avenue, CHP said. The helicopter had continued to track the car.

The car struck several trash cans on the northern shoulder, careened west and knocked over a street sign near the intersection of Sierra and Sequoia Drive, CHP said. The Honda continued west and came to rest on its wheels after hitting a tree.

Despite life-saving efforts, the driver died from his injuries at the scene. Officers found a gun and ammunition inside the car, and said it was not immediately clear if the driver was impaired, CHP said.

The drive was identified later Friday by the Fresno County Coroner’s Office as Jorge Gutierrez-Vasquez, 23, of Fresno.

The California Highway Patrol took over the fatal crash investigation, because of its location in a Fresno County pocket, CHP said.