Driver found dead in a car crash near Grandview was actually killed by a bullet

Investigators believe a 36-year-old Grandview man was shot before he crashed his car into a power pole two weeks ago.

Armando Jimenez Cruz was found dead in the driver’s seat of his car on the evening of Nov. 23 near the intersection of Old Prosser Road and Mountainview Road, south of Grandview, said the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office.

But investigators soon discovered it wasn’t the crash that killed him.

Yakima County sheriff’s detectives say Cruz was shot before he smashed into the pole and are asking for the public’s help to find anyone who may have seen something.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff’s Detective Brian McIlrath at 509-574-2562 or a tip can be submitted at crimestopersyakco.org.

The Yakima Herald Republic reported that his death was the first homicide in Grandview this year and the 36th in Yakima County.