Update | Recent high school grad killed in drive-by near downtown Kennewick
A recent high school grad with plans to attend college in a few months was shot and killed Saturday night in Finley.
Jatzivy Sarabia, 18, apparently was wounded when shots were fired into the car she was riding in, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
Law enforcement officials believe that the deadly confrontation between two cars started about 11:40 p.m., when gunfire was reported on or near Highway 397, also called Chemical Drive.
Deputies didn’t have any new information Monday about what may have prompted the dispute, but Lt. Jason Erickson said that investigators are looking at several scenes along the highway just east of the Kennewick city limits.
At one point in the confrontation, one car stopped in the middle of the road on Highway 397 near the cable bridge while the other drove north across the bridge into Pasco, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.
At least one shot was fired at that point, according to dispatch reports.
About five minutes after gunfire was reported, a woman called 911 crying and saying that a young woman had been shot, according to the sheriff’s office and dispatch reports. It’s unclear if the caller was a witness or knew Sarabia.
The car with Sarabia inside ended up a couple blocks away near 1st Avenue and Benton Street in downtown Kennewick, where paramedics then tried unsuccessfully to save her, said an initial sheriff’s office release.
County detectives were working Sunday with the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab to collect evidence at several sites, though Erickson said information on those locations was not being released at this time.
On Monday, Erickson said investigators are combing through a large number of security videos to trace the path of the cars and figure out what happened.
They are also interviewing a witness and asking anyone else who saw something to call the sheriff’s office at 509-735-6555 or dispatchers at 509-628-0333.
An autopsy for Sarabia is scheduled for Tuesday morning at the Spokane Medical Examiner’s Office, Coroner Bill Leach said.
Several people posted memories of the slain teen on Facebook as news of her death became public.
“My heart is so broken to hear what has happened to you Jatzivy Sarabia,” one post said.
Another commentor said Sarabia shared her positive outlook on life, and there wasn’t a moment she couldn’t turn into a joke.
“I will never forget the times you were the only person in my corner and never made me feel alone, regardless the situation,” the post said. “You were such a special person and I miss you more than I could ever explain.”
This story was originally published October 16, 2022 at 2:07 PM.