A 17-year-old boy facing vehicular homicide charges after a drive-by-shooting and crash that left three dead said he was waving a Mexican flag out his girlfriend's car window when shots erupted at an intersection, according to a police report.
The teen told police he was trying to get his girlfriend — 21-year-old Yaelin Arreola of Yakima — to the hospital after the shooting on Sept. 16 when he ran a red light and crashed into a Nissan Sentra, killing 52-year-old Norma Carrillo and her daughter, Cielo Carrillo, 21, according to the report.
Arreola was shot in the head and died.
The teen remains in custody and the Yakima County Juvenile Justice Center and his bail is set at $250,000. He's scheduled to appear in Juvenile Court at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday for a pretrial hearing.
The teen will not be tried as an adult because vehicular homicide alone typically doesn't meet the criteria to try a juvenile as an adult, said Yakima County Prosecutor Joe Brusic.
The Yakima Herald-Republic typically does not name juvenile suspects charged with crimes in Juvenile Court.
Arreola was in the driver's seat when she was shot while stopped at the intersection of East Yakima Avenue and North First Street before 9:20 p.m.
The teen said he was waiving a Mexican flag out his girlfriend's car window in honor of Mexican Independence Day when people in neighboring car began shooting at them.
The teen, who identified himself as a Norteño gang member, told police he fired back, the report said. Another passenger, a 21-year-old man, was shot in the arm, the report said.
The other vehicle fled the scene, police said.
The teen put his wounded girlfriend in the back seat of her Audi and sped west on Lincoln Avenue when he struck the Sentra as it motored through Third Avenue intersection, the report said.
The shooting and crash are being investigated by the Yakima Police Major Crimes and Gang Unit and the Yakima Police Traffic Unit. Anyone with information about the case can contact the police department at 509-575-6200.
