The Washington State Patrol is seeking witnesses to a Saturday homicide on state Highway 503 in a case that was initially reported as a fatal hit-and-run crash.
Troopers identified the homicide victim as Ariel Romano, 29, of Vancouver.
Troopers were dispatched to the report of a fatal crash about 1:45 a.m. A witness told troopers a Toyota Corolla driven by Romano appeared to be street racing another car southbound on the highway when it lost control, left the road, drove across the high school’s entrance and struck a tree.
Further investigation found Romano, at some point before his car crashed, had been shot, troopers said.
Romano died at the scene. Lt. Randy Hullinger said it was still unclear whether the crash or gunshot killed him.
“We’re still trying to figure out, exactly, the sequence of everything,” Hullinger said Tuesday. “That has to do with where they were coming from, where they were going, when the altercation started between the two cars and when any gunshots were fired.”
The driver of the other vehicle — believed to be some sort of dark-colored sedan — stopped briefly after the crash but left the scene without providing any information. Witnesses told troopers the sedan sped off and was last seen turning west onto Northeast 99th Street, the WSP reported.
Hullinger encouraged anyone who was in the area at the time who saw or heard anything out of the ordinary to contact the state patrol.
“Many people have seen something or heard something and don’t know that what they saw or heard is relevant to this,” he said.
