Tragic Discovery: 9-Year-Old Found Miles from Hit-and-Run Canal Crash, Family and Authorities Seek Justice

A tragic incident unfolded when a driver caused a fatal crash, sending a vehicle off the road and into a canal in California, resulting in the deaths of a mother and her 9-year-old son. Authorities reported that the driver fled the scene immediately after the accident.

Timothy Seth Chavez, aged 22, faces serious charges including two counts of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run. Additionally, he is charged with driving on a suspended license and lacking insurance at the time of the crash. The victims have been identified as 41-year-old Martha Hernandez and her son, Adrian Hernandez.

The collision took place shortly before 2 a.m. on a Monday at the intersection of McKinley Avenue and State Road 41 in Fresno, according to police sources. After causing the crash, Chavez reportedly escaped on foot.

Lilliana Perez, the niece of Martha Hernandez, expressed her dismay in a GoFundMe post aimed at assisting Hernandez’s surviving child. “This individual showed complete disregard for the lives affected by his actions,” she lamented. “My aunt and her youngest were left in a dire predicament, with their car submerged in a nearby canal.”

Emergency responders discovered Martha Hernandez inside the submerged vehicle and transported her to the hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. Sadly, Adrian was not found with his mother at the scene.

“First responders were unaware her 9-year-old son was in the vehicle during the incident and was swept away by the water and found hours later miles away,” Perez wrote.

The mother and son were headed home from an Easter celebration.

“Our Adrian was a very pure and innocent person — a son, brother, student who loved school and was always involved in church with his mother,” Perez wrote.

Hernandez’s other son is set to graduate from high school later this year.

“He not only is left to face this milestone without his mom and little brother but also left with the weight to give his mother the funeral she deserves by giving her a service in her hometown and by transporting her to her childhood hometown in Mexico where her closest loved ones await,” said Perez. “The sudden loss has brought unexpected funeral expenses and living costs at a time that should be filled with hope and celebration.”

Chavez turned himself in to the Fresno County Jail on Monday night.