18-year-old found dead along road, police say it was a hit and run
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BEAVERTON, Ore. - A young man was found dead along a road and police say it appears he was the victim of a hit and run.
The body of 18-year-old Harley D. Rocher of Aloha was found just before 8 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Southwest Laurelwood Avenue and Homewood Street in the Raleigh Hills area.
Neighbors told us the stretch of road is pretty dangerous because it's dark and cars drive too fast.
"I'm not surprised because it's not well lit," said Shannon Galloway, who lives nearby. "It's just not a good road to walk on at night."
According to police, the man was face down on the edge of the road. His name has not yet been released pending notification of next of kin.
We asked police if the victim was trying to cross the street or was just walking along the road, but they said it's too early to tell at this point.
Police do not yet have information on the type of vehicle that might have been involved in the crash On Jan. 25, the State Crime Lab said the vehicle may be teal in color and have passenger-side damage.
Anyone with information that can help investigators is asked to call the Beaverton Police Department at (503) 629-0111.
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he was my nephew, and you're right!!!
 @shaunacullenÂ
sorry for your loss I knew him all his life he was a fine young man
I hope they catch the person and lock them up forever
sick people who can drive off and leave another human dying on the side of the road
deserve to be punished
My heart goes out to the friends & family of this young man. I am so very sorry for your loss...
I'm sorry for the friends and family that lost this young man last night. So much potential that has been lost. I don't know the reason that someone could hit & run a pedestrian, runner, cyclist, or anyone else for that matter. I do hope that the conscience of the guilty party gets the better of him/her and turns him/herself in.
Harley was my nephew and a finer man I have never met.....he had his head on right and was headed for great things in his life. If anyone knows what happened to him, please come forward, for our families sake. Do the right thing and turn yourself in!!
 @shaunacullen So sorry for your family's tragic loss. I am also sorry that the comments section for this sad story has devolved into a political conversation, as usual. Completely inappropriate, I'm sorry these few narcissists have hijacked the story. Here's to keeping hope that the person responsible for your nephew's death will realize that coming forward is the right thing to do.
 @shaunacullen I'm so sorry for your families lost, I wished I knew something to provide the police to help your family gain some closure from all of this. No one should have to lose a family member in this way. I do hope that the guilty party has a conscience, or someone s/he has told about this has a conscience and does the right thing by turning themself in.
My heart goes out to the family of this young man. Â Tragic.
n LA 50% of accidents are hit and run...any of the liberals care to guess why that may be? Doubt the have that many drunks hitting and running so hmmm must be some other reason. Could be once you have broken a few laws then heck what's a few more after all your not likely to get in much trouble for it...
 @FreedomRocks Maybe you could find a more appropriate venue for your political rants, it seems you are proving the point we "liberals" make when we observe your tendency toward apathy and judgment. A story about the tragic death of an innocent young man who by all accounts was an appreciated member of society is not the place for you to make yourself feel superior. Shame on you.
 @FreedomRocks It never fails....someone has to bring up the word "Liberal".....on an article about a hit and run...make everything political, right Freedom?  Give it a rest.
 @PD1202  @FreedomRocksÂ
Well your buddy Ed, whom you "liked" was the first to bring up partisanship about 3 hours ago.
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So you don't like it when someone else does the same thing only it is something you don't agree with? There's a word for that, can't think of it right now, on the tip of my tongue, oh, I got it. HYPOCRITE. Yea, that what it is.
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Maybe you need to give it a rest. After you and Ed started with the politics. FreedomRocks is just continuing on in the same vein.
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My guess is that your cognitive dissonance can't see the correlation. Typical.
 @PD1202  @FreedomRocksÂ
Well I have to give you credit for admitting it....8-}
 @RalphCramden  @FreedomRocks Gee..I guess I must be...cause I don't see any "libtards" "Neocons" "Rethuglicans" "DemocRats" or any other political name calling....  ; )
 @PD1202  @FreedomRocksÂ
Are you admitting you are that ignorant about Ed's post?
 @RalphCramden  @FreedomRocks Whoa now Ralphie....I thought his comment was funny...that's why he got a "like" from me...plus, I don't see anywhere in his comment bashing anyone from any political party.....do you?
 @PD1202 Well I don't think the one conservative in CA actually is in favor of zero border control and allowing 25% of the population to drive around with no insurance and not being there legally.
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It really does not bother you or make you wonder why 50% of the accidents in LA are hit and run???? Yes the is every other accident, 1 out of 2. Don't ya think the police should really be able to focus on problems closer to what their real job should be then riding heard on masses of illegals hit-n and run-n...
 @pdxd Wow that is some bad luck or maybe just sad fact based on where you have to park.
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I have been hit and run only once and it was in Beaverton. I knew who did it and with what vehicle but the police said it was not worth there time to get paint chips, match them, and charge them and of course the cheap as trailer trash white folk who lived there denied it. No not holding a grudge 10 years later....
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Since no one saw it happen I was just screwed out of my deductible and had to have my insurance fix it.
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@FreedomRocks @GNTLwarrior Seriously, what do any of your comments have to do with this particular incident? Perhaps you should go vent about politics in an oregonlive forum. Are you saying this young man was hit by an illegal? Really? And what evidence do you have to provide? Come on dude. One of the upper posts here is from a family member. Do you think this man's relatives give a ____ about your politics, and your penchant for hijacking threads for your own self serving needs? Have a little respect.
 @FreedomRocks In the good state of Oregon, my car has been struck in the last 3 years by hit & run drivers while parked, (luckily only minor scratches). I believe it's either 1/3 or 1/4 of the Oregon vehicles on the road are currently uninsured, and from what I've seen, there's been more white people that have been uninsured in Oregon that hispanic people. No statistics on that, but from what I've seen in my line of work, I see more white people that have gone uninsured than I've seen of hispanics.
 @GNTLwarrior Sad but true and neither of the main stream parties have helped us on that issue...
 @FreedomRocks zero border control is American.Â
I'm sure the driving will come forth quickly - either by their own recognizance or by police officers. People think they can escape this type of thing, but rarely does it happen.Â
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The POLICE STATE of Oregon mandates drivers take off.
@August100 Umm, moron.The cops mandate you stop.
 @August100 Sure. Blame hit and run on the police. My impression is that if any of this were true it would be at least in part because of all the anti-police messages posted.
 @Nobody  @August100Â
Trying to have a conversation with August is a lesson in futility.
In response to this tragedy, the National Roadster Association (NRA) is proposing each pedestrian pay for and have his/her own complete light crew. Â Also - Billy Bob Goodolboy, Sheriff of Deliverance County, Oregon wrote to the President stating his esteemed officers (all related to each other) would decline to enforce any new traffic safety laws. Â "We all know these here traffic laws are a socialist plot to take our pickup trucks from us and force us into minivans," said Sheriff Goodolboy.
 @Ed Ruttledge Not the appropriate thread, since there really isn't a place for humor in a time of someones mourning. However, if this was on a different thread, I'd think it was funny as ____ing heII
That comment actually was a waste of electrons...and pixels
 @Ed Ruttledge You are demented. Put down the meth pipe. Seek help.Â
I can sugest Ed Ruttlege sign up for High Voltage Electric Sholck Therapy.
Embarrassed much?
 @Ed Ruttledge Dope
 @Ed Ruttledge
This is what you need to do: Roll over, wake up your brother and tell him you are losing it!
 @Ed RuttledgeÂ
Are you on drugs? Or do you have TBI or OBS?
 @RalphCramden  @Ed RuttledgeÂ
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I had to look those up ROFLMAO!
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Thanks Ralf.!
 @pdxdÂ
All kinds of lessons. Plus they pay me very well. Much of it is government. Nothing finer than having the government send me large checks. Nothing like some of the defense contractors but they are pretty big to me.
 @RalphCramden You have students? I can't imagine what the lesson would be.
 @Repoman  @Ed RuttledgeÂ
I was told the other day by some of my students that I have an odd way of looking at things but very effective and memorable.
 @RalphCramden  @Ed Ruttledge No he is just a flaming liberal trying not to waste a tragedy.
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Also a little misguided or not with it enough to see the flaws in his liberal analogy...that with guns the crime is to purposely hit something not running away after accidentally hitting it.
 @FreedomRocks Hey! I'm the flaming liberal that was called "fruitcup" yesterday, though personally I prefer going by the name Dulce de Leche, if you only knew how good I was........
 @FreedomRocks  @Ed RuttledgeÂ
Even some of the resident liberals are berating him. He really does have a problem.
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Leave it to Ed to start in with the politics. Then of course @PD1202Â comes along and supports Ed's politics and then @PD1202Â berates you up above for making it political.
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Ed did start the politicization of this article. All the ones below him were discussing the actual events and making non political comments. It was a nice discussion.
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Then Ed shows up.
@Ed Ruttledge ALRIGHTY, then.
I was on that stretch of road last night, and it must have been shortly before the young man was hit and killed. We were going to my son's basketball team get together, and it was about 7:20. Ironically, if I had not been paying attention, we could have hit a man who was on the east side of the road, walking south toward Scholls Ferry Rd. I thought to myself how dangerous that was for the guy. I don't think it was the young man who was hit. This guy looked a little older, and he was carrying a plastic bag that appeared full, almost as if he were homeless. But there is very little room for pedestrians to walk on Laurelwood, As Ms. Galloway posted below, that IS a very dark stretch of road. It was difficult to see the man I saw walking, until we were right up on him. I can see if someone were speeding there, and not paying close attention, if a pedestrian is not dressed in brighter clothing, and not watching out..well..now we know what can happen, because it tragically did.
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I assume the young man was either on his way too or back from a sporting event at Jesuit nearby. When we returned on the same route about 8:40, there was a lot of traffic leaving near the Jesuit gym. We headed south on Laurelwood, and I could see the flashing lights. Then I got to the scene, and the whole place was blocked off, and there were about 6-8 police vehicles there. I wondered what it was all about. We had to turn around and find an alternate route home. My initial speculation was some kind of shooting, because normally you don't see that kind of multiple agency response. Terrible thing. I hope they catch the driver. It won't bring the young man back, but the consequences for what the driver did should be extremely punitive, and then for the rest of his or her life, it will be yet another cautionary tale.
 @KillsGermsOnContact You just said it was hard to see the pedestrian.  Then you want to punish the driver to the fullest.  Most likely that road should be closed to pedestrians or have several warning signs.  Yes, he/she should have stopped.  Unforgiveable.
@my2cents Yes, the driver should be punished. Not seeing someone because it's dark and they have no reflective clothing or lights is one thing (even though if you're driving safely, and paying close attention like I was, hitting a pedestrian in dark clothes is still avoidable. Leaving someone to die there is sick and inhumane. And I don't care if you are drunk, or drugged, or you have some other legal problems that will up the charges, it's no excuse for not stopping. If somehow, the person survives, a judge will look a lot more favorably, than if you're caught later. And really, it's just the right thing to do. Doesn't anyone ever think about just doing the right thing any more?
 @my2cents  @KillsGermsOnContact I am sure he wants the punishment for the not stopping not the accidental hitting. We all know they were either drunk, on drugs, or illegal otherwise they would have stopped.
 @FreedomRocks  @my2cents  @KillsGermsOnContact
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You know I overhear a LOT of people get their information pulled from NCIC and I have to say, WAY too many people in Washington and Clackamas counties are driving illegally.Â
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Now I have not spent any time at BOEC (Portland), so I don't know what it sounds like there, but I can tell you, it is a rare thing it seems (this is just a perception likely) that a person has no suspensions, conditions, limitations, revocations, stipulations or plain straight non existent license.
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It seems have the people data is pulled have criminal records.
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So either law enforcement has psychic badguy powers, or all too many people are driving who should probably not be driving.
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Yeah..that makes sense. Why else do you not stop, unless you're under the influence, or you're suspended, or uninsured. In other words, a law abiding citizen stops, calls 911, and cares for the injured. Sometimes..a life being saved can be a matter of minutes. Leaving a human being to die there like someone might do with a squirrel is unthinkable.
 my2cents, why shouldn't the driver be punished to the fullest?  Because they didn't see the person before he was hit and killed?Â
Oops..Ms Galloway was quoted in the report..not a post here. My bad.