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Left inset: Shane Shahan (Fresno Police Department). Right inset: Jesse Espino (Chapel of Light). Background: The car that Jesse Espino was riding in when Shane Shahan ran a red light and slammed into it, killing Espino (KFSN).
A man from California has been sentenced to prison after he caused a devastating car crash by speeding through a red light at almost 80 mph, only to flee the scene. During his trial, video evidence was shown of him glancing back at the wreckage and a fatally injured passenger before running away.
In January, a Fresno police officer recounted at Shane Shahan’s murder trial how Shahan “looked back … and proceeded to run,” according to a report by local ABC affiliate KFSN.
Shahan was apprehended and has now been sentenced to 19 years to life. Upon his capture, he reportedly told officers, “Sorry. Sorry. Sorry, I got scared. I didn’t know what to do,” as per the testimony regarding the 2023 incident.
The arresting officer noted, “I could smell the odor of alcohol on him,” further describing Shahan as “sweating profusely” and “talking erratically,” according to KFSN.
Driving a Chevrolet Colorado, Shahan ran a red light at a major intersection, First Street and McKinley Avenue. His vehicle collided with a Hyundai Elantra carrying two people, tragically resulting in the death of 35-year-old passenger Jesse Espino, who succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
“[Shahan] fled the scene immediately following the accident,” police said in a June 2023 press release. “Officers ultimately located [Shahan] in a nearby neighborhood a short time later.”
Shahan flipped his truck but managed to escape unscathed. He was driving drunk and had marijuana in his system, with prosecutors saying he had two previous alcohol-related driving convictions on his record at the time, from 2016 and 2017.
Shahan was still on probation for the 2017 DUI when he caused the crash.
“There was no phone call to 911, even though he had a cellphone,” a Fresno County judge said at Shahan’s sentencing, according to KFSN. “This is not just one bad decision. It was multiple bad decisions and selfish decisions.”
Espino’s sister, Crystal Espino, told the court, “We are not the same people we were before that day. My parents have suffered the ultimate tragedy and I have lost my only sibling, the person I was supposed to grow old with.”
Espino’s father, Edward Espino, said, “Seeing Jesse laying motionless on the hospital table, it’s an image I live with every day. I kissed his forehead and said my last goodbye, knowing nothing will ever bring him back.”
Shahan was given the maximum sentence allowed after being convicted of second-degree murder, hit-and-run resulting in death and driving with a suspended license. It took jurors less than an hour to convict him.