FRESNO COUNTY (KMJ) On Saturday night, July 26, 2025, a tragic DUI crash took the life of a young passenger and led to the arrest of the driver on multiple felony charges.
CHP officers responded to a solo-vehicle collision on Mt. Whitney Avenue, just west of Cedar Avenue. Investigators say 23-year-old Juan Carlos Mendoza, Jr. was driving a Chevrolet Tahoe westbound when he veered off the road, crashing into a walnut orchard. The SUV struck several trees and overturned, coming to rest on its side.
The SUV was carrying four people. The driver and a female front passenger were wearing seatbelts and suffered minor injuries. Two male passengers in the back seat were not wearing seatbelts. One of them, 24-year-old Kevin Juarez of Fresno was found unresponsive and had to be pulled from the wreckage. CPR was performed at the scene and during transport to Community Regional Medical Center, where he was later pronounced deceased.
Mendoza was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI causing injury. He was medically cleared at the hospital and later booked into the Fresno County Jail.
