More information have emerged regarding the incident on Sunday involving a domestic violence shooting and a fatal motor vehicle crash. The deceased suspect has been identified as Juan Jose Castro, 31, of Ashland.
Meanwhile, the victim, who suffered a gunshot wound during the altercation and injuries during the crash, is now in stable condition after undergoing surgery at a local hospital.
The sequence of events unfolded during the altercation when the victim attempted to flee the scene in a vehicle. It was at that moment when Castro, at close range, fired a shot, and hit the victim.
In an attempt to save the victim, Castro took the wheel and started driving towards the hospital. The situation took an even more devastating turn when their vehicle collided head-on with a responding fire truck on Dead Indian Memorial Road outside Ashland.
Firefighters from the Jackson County Fire District 5 (JCFD5) extricated the victim from the mangled vehicle, but Castro did not survive.
The Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction (STAR) team was summoned to the crash scene to investigate. Preliminary findings from STAR suggest that Castro’s 1992 four-door Subaru Legacy was traveling well above the 55-miles-per-hour speed limit. The sheer force of the collision resulted in the Subaru displacing the 35,000 lb. fire truck with 400 gallons of water and tearing off its front axle.
Authorities are still actively investigating the incident, with Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) detectives leading the effort. At this time, no further information is available for release.
Source: JCSO
