Man Hospitalized After Sister Strikes Him With Car in Fresno Dispute

A man was hospitalized Thursday after his sister struck him with her vehicle during a family argument at a gated community near Hughes and Ashlan avenues in Northwest Fresno, Fresno Police said.

Officers responding to the scene determined the siblings had been arguing before the confrontation turned physical. The sister drove her car into her brother, sending him to the hospital. Authorities have not disclosed the victim's condition or identified either party by name.

That missing detail, the victim's condition, carries real legal weight. Under California Penal Code 245, using a vehicle to strike someone can support a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, a wobbler offense that carries up to four years in state prison as a felony and fines of up to $10,000. If investigators establish the act was deliberate and the injuries prove severe, prosecutors have room to escalate. The Fresno County District Attorney's Office, where Assistant DA Steve Wright oversees the domestic violence unit, has made prosecuting family violence a top priority. Wright has described the offense as one that "has broad ripple effects that can have far reaching consequences."

The use of a vehicle as a weapon is not without local precedent. In a prior central Fresno case, a driver who nearly struck a pedestrian circled back, engaged the man in an argument, then deliberately accelerated toward him, leaving the 67-year-old with head injuries.

Both incidents sit within a pattern of family violence that sets Fresno apart from its neighboring counties. Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto confirmed 13,000 domestic violence cases were reported within the city in 2024 alone. Between February 2023 and March 2025, the Fresno Police Department logged 14,980 domestic violence-related reports, roughly 625 per month. Fresno County's per-capita domestic violence call rate runs nearly three times higher than Madera County's and 18% above Kern County's.

The Marjaree Mason Center, the county's primary domestic violence resource organization led by CEO Nicole Linder, handles 800 to 900 survivor calls per month. In 2023, the MMC partnered with Fresno County law enforcement to launch a joint data dashboard tracking violence trends and guiding prevention. Chief Programs Officer Leticia Campos has drawn attention to one trend in particular: teen domestic violence cases rose 27% in 2024. "Domestic violence does not discriminate based off your age," Campos said.

For anyone in a family conflict that is escalating toward physical confrontation, the Marjaree Mason Center's 24-hour helpline is available at (559) 233-4357. Fresno County Behavioral Health operates a round-the-clock crisis line at 1-800-654-3937 for mental health intervention and mediation referrals. The National Domestic Violence Hotline reaches counselors at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting "START" to 88788. For an active physical confrontation, call 911 immediately; the Fresno County Sheriff's Office has committed to aggressively investigating domestic violence crimes and pursuing maximum protections for victims under the law.