One dead in Modesto when car crashes into house during pursuit. Driver arrested
CORRECTION: The original information provided by law enforcement indicated that two people died in the home. That has been corrected to show that only one person was killed.
A driver being pursued by the California Highway Patrol early Tuesday turned from McHenry Avenue onto Robin Hood Drive in north Modesto and crashed at high speed into a home on Tuxford Lane, igniting a fire. One person was found dead in the home, either from the crash impact or the resulting fire, the CHP reported.
The victim was an occupant of the home, not the car. Neighbors said, and the CHP confirmed, that the person in the home was house-sitting while the residents were out of town.
The driver of the Ford sedan, 20-year-old Stanislaus County resident Zachariah James Knobel, reported no injuries but was taken to a hospital, where he was medically cleared, CHP spokesperson Officer Aaron Fay said at the scene. A field sobriety test determined he was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. An 18-year-old female passenger was released to her mother, Fay said.
Knobel was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center. He faces charges including second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter, felony DUI, evading police and driving on a suspended license.
The incident began about 1:20 a.m. when CHP officers observed a vehicle driving at a high rate of speed east on Standiford Avenue near Carver Road, according to Fay. Officers turned on red lights and siren, but the driver failed to yield, leading to a pursuit.
The driver continued at a high rate of speed and made a right turn onto McHenry Avenue, traveling south. As the vehicle approached the red light at Robin Hood it turned east on Robin Hood, still at an excessive speed, Fay said, before crashing into the home on the corner of Robin Hood and Tuxford.
The CHP’s major accident investigation team out of Fresno was still investigating on scene well into midmorning. Evidence markers were placed all over the property and the street, and a drone was being flown over the area of Robin Hood Drive and Tuxford Lane.
A tree in the front yard had a big chunk of its trunk torn out, and vehicle debris even was on the roof of the home. Neighbors noted that the front yard had protective landscaping boulders near the street, but the vehicle missed hitting any of those.
According to the Modesto Fire Department incident report, engines were dispatched to Robin Hood and Tuxford for a potential structure fire and vehicle in a house.
While engines were on route, the incident was upgraded to a working fire. More engines responded as well as medic and fire investigators, according to the report.
Engine 5 reported a single-story residential structure fire with a vehicle inside.
“Crews operated in the offensive mode and due to reports of occupants inside, declared our priority as life safety,” the incident report said. “The fire was confined to the vehicle with some extension to the house.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 8:48 AM.
