Nate Maier was a three-star recruit on the offensive line when he came to Fresno State.

Nate Maier was a three-star recruit on the offensive line when he came to Fresno State.

FRESNO STATE ATHLETICS

Friday brought a mix of somber and hopeful news across the central San Joaquin Valley, from the death of a former Fresno State football player to the return of a familiar face to local television. A fatal crash in Fresno also knocked out power to thousands.

Here are the top stories of the dayNate Maier, former Fresno State football player, dies at 21. ‘Heartbroken’ — Former Fresno State football player Nate Maier died Tuesday at age 21. Maier joined the Bulldogs from Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead and, in 2021, recorded 38 tackles including 26 solo tackles and one interception. He was rated a three-star recruit by 247Sports. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help his family with financial burdens.He left NY, DC, to come back to Fresno. What brought this ABC30 anchor ‘home’ — Cory James has returned to ABC30 as its A.M. Live and midday anchor after leaving in 2020 to pursue jobs in New York City, Washington D.C. and Atlanta. A conversation with former ABC30 anchor Liz Harrison, along with recurring dreams about Fresno, prompted his return. James follows in the footsteps of Warren Armstrong, who left Fresno for Sacramento in the mid-to-late 1990s before returning four years later to anchor at ABC30.Driver dies after vehicle crashes into power pole, catches fire, Fresno police say — A driver was killed Friday afternoon after crashing into a utility pole at Willow and Tulare avenues in Fresno at about 4:30 p.m. Witnesses told police the vehicle was traveling southbound at a high rate of speed when the driver swerved to avoid traffic and struck the pole. Live wires fell to the ground and ignited a fire that engulfed the sedan. The crash also knocked out power to at least 2,500 PG&E customers.

Original stories by Anthony Galaviz, Joshua Tehee and Nick Fenley

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media’s AI policy.