A 22-year-old Cleveland man died after his car crashed into a gate in Cleveland Heights Sunday night; he was later found to have a gunshot wound. Two adult men were in police custody, but no charges had been filed as of the report.
Cleveland Heights police were called around 7:30 p.m. Sunday to a reported car crash at the intersection of Severn and Andrews roads, according to Cleveland 19 News. When officers arrived, they found a car that had crashed into a gate in the 1700 block of Andrews Road, with the driver unresponsive inside.
Officers gave first aid before EMS transported the driver to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner identified him as Donyae J. Hill. Cleveland 19 News reported that he died from a gunshot wound; the circumstances of the shooting have not been detailed.
Two Men In Custody, No Charges Filed
Police said two adult males were in custody at the time of the report, but as of the station's reporting, no charges had been filed against either man. Cleveland Heights Police Detectives are asking anyone with information about the case to call them at 216-291-3883.
Countywide homicide figures
Cuyahoga County recorded 166 homicides last year, nearly 7% fewer than the 178 recorded the previous year, according to county medical examiner statistics reported by cleveland.com. That countywide annual total does not specify how many fatal shootings involved people in vehicles or crashes, so it cannot establish a trend in those cases.
A September report from cleveland.com described multiple earlier cases of drivers found shot in crashed cars, including an 18-year-old victim.
A String Of Similar Cases Across Cleveland
Among those earlier cases, 40-year-old Darnell Bell was found shot in his crashed car on May 1 near East 105th Street and Grantwood Avenue on Cleveland's East Side, per the same cleveland.com report. Three days later, on May 4, 28-year-old Terell Malik Owens was found dead on a tree lawn beside a vehicle.
In August, 2026, Deven Wheat Jr. was shot while driving and crashed into a utility pole near East 55th Street and Cedar Avenue, an impact so severe it split the vehicle in half and ejected both him and a 16-month-old child who was riding along; the child was hospitalized, the outlet reported. Days later, on August 27, 34-year-old Zerick Stewart was found shot in an overturned vehicle near East 114th Street and Union Avenue and died at the scene. Over Labor Day weekend, 41-year-old Jovan Varner of Cleveland was also found fatally shot in a vehicle that had overturned on its side.
Investigators have not said where or when Hill was shot. Police have not disclosed a motive or a suspected shooter.
