Man who died in local police pursuit identified
Yuma police have released the name of the man who died in a crash with a semi-truck that ended a multi-agency police pursuit on Wednesday.
The man, who was driving a stolen 2011 Hyundai Accent at the time, has been identified as 44-year-old Alfredo Panduro Zendejas of Yuma.
He sustained fatal injuries as a result of the collision and was pronounced deceased at the scene. Next of kin notification has been made.
Zendejas, who allegedly stole multiple vehicles at gunpoint and fired shots at a state trooper during Wednesday’s multiple-agency police pursuit, also had an extensive violent criminal history, which included serving time in prison, according to Yuma police.
The incident started at approximately 7:45 a.m. when deputies from the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office took a report for the theft of a water truck and two firearms in the area of Araby Road and County 9 ½ Street.
Then at about 9:12 a.m. Yuma police responded to an attempted carjacking in the 3200 block of East 40th Street, in which a man threatened a 45-year-old woman with a gun and tried to take her vehicle.
The vehicle would not start, and the man then fled in the water truck. There were no reported injuries.
From there, the man went to AWC where, armed with a weapon, he stole a purple Acura from a 51-year-old faculty member in the Kino parking lot around 10 a.m.
He then fled the scene, without injuring anyone, leaving the water truck behind.
A short time later, at approximately 10:41 a.m. Yuma police spotted the stolen purple Acura in the area of 16th Street and Pacific Avenue. Officers, however, lost the vehicle in the area of 24th Street and Kennedy Lane
Somerton police began pursuing the purple Acura northbound on Avenue 3E at 3:57 p.m. after getting a hit on a license plate reader indicating that it had been reported stolen.
Because the man was reported to be armed and dangerous, several other law enforcement agencies joined the pursuit.
While being pursued the purple Acura took Interstate 8 to
Foothills Boulevard, turned back toward Yuma on the North Frontage Road, then headed south on Avenue 8E.
From Avenue 8E the suspect then took the South Frontage east, causing an accident at Fortuna Road.
He then continued back to Foothills Boulevard, west on North Frontage Road then north on Fortuna Road to Highway 95 westbound.
At 16th Street and Pate Drive, the suspect abandoned the purple Acura and fled on foot northbound, where he eventually fired shots at a Department of Public Safety (DPS) vehicle.
The man then carjacked another vehicle, a small silver car, in the 2200 block of East 15th Place, by threatening a woman in her 70s with a gun. While he did shoot the gun twice near the woman and her passenger, there were no reported injuries.
The pursuit then continued through the Yuma Palms Regional Center Mall to Giss Parkway down to Avenue B and southward to County 15th Street and Avenue 3E, where the suspect collided with a semi-truck in the intersection.
YPD, YCSO, Somerton Police Department, DPS, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Patrol Air and Marine Operations, US Border Patrol and US Marshals were all either involved in the pursuit or assisted with it.