Two Car Crash Monday Leaves One Dead in Sunnyside

The Yakima County Sheriffs Office is investigating a fatal crash reported Monday, March 7 near Sunnyside.  Deputies with the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office, Officers from the Sunnyside Police Department and Lower Valley Fire responded to the intersection of Vanbelle Road and Washout Road Monday after a report of a two-vehicle collision.

One driver was dead when deputies arrived on the scene

According to a press release when deputies arrived, they found "a 2000 Dodge Durango and a 2001 Nissan Frontier pickup off the road. The driver of the Nissan was deceased." He was the only occupant of the vehicle. The investigation found the Nissan, driven by 44-year-old J. Calderon of Sunnyside was traveling north on Washout Rd and that the driver of the Durango, 26-year-old David Gomez-Perez of Sunnyside, was traveling east on Vanbelle Rd. Deputies say Gomez-Perez was "traveling at a rate of speed over the posted 50 MPH and did not stop at the stop sign. The front of his Dodge hit he driver’s door area of the Nissan. The force of the impact was great enough that it bent the frame of the Nissan. It's believed that Calderon died on impact."

The crash is under investigation by the traffic unit

Deputies found evidence that Gomez-Perez was under the influence of intoxicants.
He was taken into custody and booked into the Yakima County Jail for Vehicular Homicide charges. The collision remains under investigation by the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Unit.