Greeley man found dead in crash was shot beforehand, coroner says

GREELEY, Colo. – A man who was found dead after a crash Tuesday morning was shot before he crashed into a retaining wall in Greeley, the Weld County coroner confirmed Thursday.

Police had said from the beginning of the investigation that they were treating the death of Alberto Ruiz, 33, as a homicide after witnesses told officers the crash happened after they heard sounds similar to explosions and that they had seen a pickup truck speeding away from the scene.

Ruiz was an employee at Estes Valley Asphalt and was driving one of the company’s trucks when he was killed. Friends told Denver7 he had been working at a construction site in the area before the incident.

“It doesn’t seem real. Like one minute he’s working and the next minute he’s gone,” said Roy Varela, a good friend of the victim. “We were just with him on Easter. We had a BBQ at the park. Everything was fine. And then this — everything happened so fast.”

The Greeley Police Department says the pickup seen leaving the scene is a tan/gold 1998-2002 model Chevrolet S-10 ZR2 with black fender flares. It still has not been located or identified.

Anyone with more information about the case is asked to call Greeley police at 970-350-9600.