Mystery surrounds death of former Wash. state yo-yo champ
PHOENIX (AP) - Authorities in Phoenix still are trying to determine the events that led to the death of a former yo-yo champion from Washington state.
Phoenix police say 23-year-old Nathan DeWitt, originally from Mount Vernon, Wash., died early Wednesday after being taken to a hospital.
Police and Phoenix Fire Department crews responded to a rollover crash shortly after midnight and found an SUV on its side.
They say DeWitt crawled out of the vehicle and had been shot.
Police say it's still unclear if DeWitt died from the shooting wound, injuries from the crash or both.
Detectives say DeWitt possibly was at Christmas party before the shooting.
The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that DeWitt was the 2005 Pacific Northwest yo-yo champion and placed eighth in the 2008 competition and 18th last year.
Phoenix police say 23-year-old Nathan DeWitt, originally from Mount Vernon, Wash., died early Wednesday after being taken to a hospital.
Police and Phoenix Fire Department crews responded to a rollover crash shortly after midnight and found an SUV on its side.
They say DeWitt crawled out of the vehicle and had been shot.
Police say it's still unclear if DeWitt died from the shooting wound, injuries from the crash or both.
Detectives say DeWitt possibly was at Christmas party before the shooting.
The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that DeWitt was the 2005 Pacific Northwest yo-yo champion and placed eighth in the 2008 competition and 18th last year.
RoadRage?
That's sad. Arizona is an absolute mess; its murder rate is well above the national average. That state needs to pull itself together. As many problems as we have in Washington, Arizona has a whole lot more. Arizonans need to demand more of their police and elected officials in terms of crime control.Â
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http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/table-5
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Washington murder rate in 2011:Â 2.4 per 100,000 people
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US national average in 2011: 4.7
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Arizona murder rate in 2011: 6.2 (!)
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 @WhobekeÂ
And the federal govt sued Arizona to prevent that state from protecting its citizens from illegal immigrants from Mexico involved in the drug trade, even refusing to take into federal custody illegals arrested by Arizona authorities. Â Â
 @Opus8no5  @WhobekeÂ
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I wasn't a fan of that action, but other border states such as California and Texas manage to have lower murder rates than Arizona. And in any case, hispanics only appear to account for around 1/3rd of AZ's murder cases, compared to their 25% share of the population - an overrepresentation, but not enough to torque the numbers as high as AZ has allowed them to get.
Oh no, way too young, he's just a kid. Â
Life sure has a lot of ups and downs in it.
 @sorbothegeek and @ Abelia, you're really joking that a young man got killed on Christmas? This isn't some Christmas sitcom. There's a family without their son, brother, uncle now and for no apparent reason (yes, I know he was shot and crashed a vehicle. We don't know why.) Show some respect!
 @anon4444 Sad, isn't it? Their comments give us insight into what is wrong with our society in current times.
He took a yo-yo to a gun fight.
@abelia Classy abelia, real classy...
In the first sentence, "state" should be capitalized.Â
And the carnage goes on, and on...