OAKHURST — On June 6, 2023, California Highway Patrol (CHP) Detectives arrested Bryce Yandell, 22, of Coarsegold, believed to be responsible for the fatal hit-and-run crash which killed Eben Hammond, 20, on July 7, 2021, in Oakhurst.
Courtesy of arrests.org
A Life Well-Lived, Gone Too Soon
On July 7, 2021, just before midnight, Eben Hammond was walking and skateboarding home with family members on Road 427, near Elliot Drive, in Oakhurst. What was described as a dark-colored SUV (Jeep Cherokee or Toyota 4Runner) suddenly struck Hammond from behind.
Hammond succumbed to his injuries on the scene. With the cooperation of Hammond’s family, friends, the community, and Crime Stoppers, numerous leads were investigated by the Oakhurst CHP Area Office.
In March 2022, a Crime Stoppers tip led CHP Detectives to Bryce Yandell. Yandell owned a dark-colored Jeep Cherokee, which he claimed was parked in Mariposa and had not been driven since 2021. Yandell claimed there was no collision damage. However, CHP discovered major damage consistent with vehicle vs. pedestrian collisions.
After several interviews, Yandell insisted he had no involvement in the death of Eben Hammond. Through Madera County Superior Court search warrants, Detectives and Criminalists from the Department of Justice linked physical evidence from the crime scene and circumstantial evidence from Yandell’s cellular data to Eben Hammond’s death.
On June 6, 2023, CHP detectives contacted Yandell at the CHP – Oakhurst Area Office and placed him under arrest without incident.
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