20-year-old spent years volunteering in Stanislaus County, now faces murder charge
Zachariah Knobel was 7 years old when he started a food drive with his 4-year-old sister. The year was 2013, and the idea came when the pair looked at the back of a Cheerios box that read, “One in six Americans are food insecure.” Now 20, Zachariah Knobel is making headlines for a very different reason: He is charged with crashing a car into a Modesto home, killing the woman inside.
He appeared in the Stanislaus County Superior Courthouse on Thursday. The arraignment was continued until July 7, while Knobel hires private counsel.
The food drive Knobel and his sister started was still going strong in partnership with The Modesto Gospel Mission when The Modesto Bee talked to the family in 2022.
Their mother’s Facebook page documents their young and teen years full of volunteering and giving back to the community, including involvement in blood drives, helping organize religious conventions and participating in faith-based outdoor adventure programs.
Fatal car crash into house follows CHP pursuit
Knobel was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter, felony DUI, evading police and driving on a suspended license. His license was suspended due to a prior, and still open, reckless-driving case, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Wendell Emerson.
Knobel was being pursued by the California Highway Patrol after being observed speeding and failing to yield first on Standiford Avenue, then on McHenry Avenue before turning onto Robin Hood Drive.
He crashed at high speed into a home on Tuxford Lane, igniting a fire. One person staying in the home was found dead, either from the crash impact or the resulting fire, the CHP reported. The identity of the person killed has not been released by authorities.
Neighbors told The Bee, and the CHP confirmed, that the residents were out of town at the time of the incident and had a house sitter/dog sitter.
A field sobriety test determined Knobel was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. An 18-year-old female passenger was released to her mother, the CHP said.
Knobel was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center.
This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 4:01 PM with the headline "20-year-old spent years volunteering in Stanislaus County, now faces murder charge."
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