The Fremont community is mourning the loss of 37 year old Jesse Katches, who died Monday night after being struck by two separate vehicles while attempting to cross a major thoroughfare, an incident that marks the fourth traffic fatality recorded within the city since the beginning of 2026.
Authorities publicly identified Katches on Thursday morning following notification of his next of kin, confirming that he succumbed to injuries sustained in the collision that occurred on Stevenson Boulevard, a primary arterial route traversing the southern expanse of the Bay Area city.
The Fremont Police Department responded to the scene at approximately 8:32 p.m. on February 10 following multiple reports of a pedestrian down in the roadway between Sundale Drive and Blacow Road, where officers arriving alongside fire personnel and paramedics discovered Katches lying in the westbound lanes suffering from catastrophic injuries .
The preliminary investigation conducted by the Fremont Police Traffic Unit established that Katches had attempted to cross Stevenson Boulevard at a mid block location approximately 200 feet west of the signalized intersection at Sundale Drive, an area characterized by heavy southbound and westbound vehicle traffic during the evening hours.
A Toyota Scion traveling westbound struck Katches as he entered the number two lane, the lane second furthest from the left hand shoulder, and the impact hurled his body into the number one lane, the lane adjacent to the center divider. The driver of the Toyota Scion immediately pulled over to the shoulder of the road, remained at the scene, and has fully cooperated with investigators while exhibiting no signs of impairment, according to police statements confirming that alcohol and drugs are not suspected as contributing factors in the initial collision.
In the moments immediately following the first impact, while Katches lay incapacitated in the far left westbound lane, a second westbound vehicle struck him and continued driving without stopping, disappearing into the night along Stevenson Boulevard toward the western reaches of the city. Police have not identified the second vehicle or its driver, and the investigation has expanded to include a canvass of the surrounding area for surveillance footage and witness accounts that might illuminate the identity of the hit and run motorist.
Emergency responders transported Katches by ambulance to a local hospital, where attending physicians pronounced him dead despite all efforts to stabilize his condition, and the Alameda County Coroner’s Office subsequently responded to the medical facility to assume custody of his remains .
The precise sequence of events preceding the fatal crossing remains under investigation, though authorities have confirmed that Katches was moving through heavy traffic when he entered the roadway away from the designated crosswalk at Sundale Drive, a decision that placed him directly in the path of oncoming vehicles whose drivers possessed limited reaction time given the mid block location and the density of surrounding traffic.
The driver of the Toyota Scion sustained no injuries and has provided statements to investigators regarding visibility conditions, vehicle speed, and the sudden appearance of a pedestrian in the travel lane, information that will factor into the final collision reconstruction report expected in coming weeks.