By Brianna Calix
Merced Sun-Star
BALLICO, Calif. — An off-duty volunteer firefighter who stopped to help the injured at the scene of a car crash in Ballico on Thursday morning was carjacked, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The crash involved a Dodge Caravan and Ford Explorer about 7:30 a.m. on El Capital Way and Ballico Avenue. A Delhi woman and three children younger than 13 were in the van and a man was driving the Explorer.
The firefighter, whose name was not released, was passing and stopped at the crash scene to help, Sheriff Vern Warnke said. The driver of the Explorer then pulled out a handgun, loaded it and pointed it at the firefighter. He demanded the firefighter hand over his department radio and keys and then drove away in the firefighter’s silver Chevy Duramax pickup, Warnke said.
The suspect was described as a white man wearing a T-shirt depicting the California state flag, CHP Officer Moises Onsurez said.
The pickup was found about noon in the Ballico area, but Merced County sheriff’s deputies continued searching for the suspect, Warnke said.
“We believe he’s armed and has some type of handgun on him,” sheriff’s Detective Sam Becerra said.
The woman involved in the crash, Jennifer Ashvaugh, 44, had a cut above her eye but opted to seek her own medical aid, the CHP said. The children were not injured. Ashvaugh declined to speak to a Sun-Star reporter at the scene of the crash.
The Sheriff’s Department continued searching for the suspect into the afternoon using multiple resources, including search dogs and a helicopter.
Anyone with information on the suspect’s whereabouts is asked to call the California Highway Patrol at 209-356-2956.
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