The King County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified a 20-year-old man who was shot in the face Sunday night while driving on Highway 509 and died the next day.
James Richardson died Monday from a gunshot wound to the head and his death has been ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner.
The Washington State Patrol received a report that a car had crashed into a barrier around 8:40 p.m. Sunday in the southbound lanes near South Cloverdale Street in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood. The driver, who had been shot in the face, was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he died, according to the Patrol.
Detectives believe the shooter fired from a vehicle, striking the man and causing him to crash. A passenger was in the car but was unable to provide a description of a suspect’s vehicle. There have been no arrests in the case.
Richardson has a 2-year-old son and was making a name for himself in the local music scene, his family told KOMO 4 on Monday.
“I’m going to miss my son. They didn’t have to take my baby. They are cowards,” said his mother, Keshia McGee, of Federal Way, according to the TV station.
Richardson, a hip-hop artist known as Tanaa Money, planned to get engaged on New Year’s Eve while he and his girlfriend were in New York City, KOMO reported.