Driver of car involved in fatal crash traveling 94mph before impact, Fresno police testify

A 21-year-old Fresno woman, who is accused of driving drunk and killing her passenger in a single-car crash in northeast Fresno, will be put on trial for gross vehicular homicide, a judge ruled Monday.

During a preliminary hearing, Judge Gregory T. Fain found sufficient evidence to prosecute Malakeh Ghaleb Jaber on charges of DUI with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or more causing injury, driving under the influence while causing injury, reckless driving of a vehicle causing injury, being a minor with a BAC of .05% or greater, and gross vehicular homicide.

If convicted on all charges, Jaber, a Fresno State student with aspirations of becoming an attorney, could be sent to prison for 15 years.

She sat silently as she listened to police, and a passenger in her car, talk about the Aug. 7 crash that killed her friend 22-year-old Andre Aguilar, of Tulare.

Jaber was just 19 years old in 2021 when she and her four passengers loaded into her BMW 535i at about 11 p.m. to drive to a spot near Fresno State to hang out.

With music playing in the car, they headed into the night, driving south on Chestnut. As they approached a curve in the road, one of the BMW’s passengers, Nicole Mechikoff, remembers telling Jaber to slow down.

Prosecutor Steven Ueltzen asked Mechikoff if she knew how fast Jaber was driving. She replied that she did not know for sure, but probably about 60 mph.

Fresno police detective Brian Hance testified that his investigation found that Jaber hit at least 94 mph just before crash. The speed limit is 40 mph.

Hance said that based on the car’s onboard computer data, he suspects Jaber mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brake.

Mechikoff testified that Jaber had trouble controlling the speed of her car.

“The car started to speed up a lot and I looked over at Malakeh and told her to slow down and she said she was trying,” Mechikoff said. “She was panicked.”

Jaber’s BMW jumped the curb, struck a light pole and rolled several times, stopping about 50 yards away.

During a body cam video shown during the hearing, Jaber asked a police officer if her passengers were okay. She said she looked for them in the car but they were not there.

All of the passengers in the car were ejected, police said. Jaber was the only occupant of the vehicle who wore a seat belt.

Suffering the worst injuries was Aguilar. He had severe trauma to his head, chest and abdominal area. He died from blunt impact, consistent with a car crash, Hance said.

Mechikoff had severe brain trauma, requiring 10 staples to close a head wound. She also injured her back and left arm.

When Ueltzen asked her how much Jaber had to drink that night, Mechikoff said she couldn’t remember exactly, but she thinks it was a shot of hard liquor and she also shotgunned a beer, a drinking trick that accelerates intoxication.

In the body cam video, Jaber denies having knowingly consumed any alcohol at a friend’s family party earlier that evening. She also seemed shocked when officer Mark Martinez, who is trained in recognizing drivers under the influence, said he smelled alcohol on her breath. He also noted her eyes were bloodshot and watery.

Martinez had her blow into a device that measures a persons BAC. She did it three times. Her BAC was .094, .09 and .08, all above the legal limit for intoxication.

Jaber, who is being defended by Jeff Hammerschmidt, remains out on bail. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 23 in Dept. 11.