Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Authorities are still attempting to unravel why a 16-year-old Chehalis boy was laying on a county road in the middle of the night when he was run over and killed by a vehicle.

Tyler S. Gonzalez died from multiple internal injuries about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday on Brockway Road near Adna, according to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office.

Coroner Warren McLeod said the sophomore from W.F. West High School didn’t live in the neighborhood and he doesn’t know what led up to the death beyond being struck by a full-sized SUV.

“People are looking for answers about why he was laying on a road,” McLeod said today.

Those are details are for law enforcement to figure out, he said.

The autopsy turned up nothing suspicious to suggest the death was caused by anything else, however it’s possible toxicology tests could shed more light, according to McLeod.

Gonzalez was wearing dark clothing and had no identification on him when it happened, according to responders.

The Washington State Patrol said a 50-year-old Onalaska woman was northbound on Brockway and rounded a slight right hand curve when she hit him. They noted there are no street lights in the area and they did not expect to file any charges against the driver.

The coroner concluded the death was accidental.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is investigating why he was out there and what he had been doing.

Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said she expected to hear more from detectives this afternoon. They’re looking into rumors that have developed, she said.

“I know they’ve been talking to juveniles (who were) at a party in that neighborhood,” Brown said.

Students at W.F. High School in Chehalis are making plans, in part to honor their classmate and to raise money for whatever expenses his family may incur for burial, according to Principal Bob Walters.

“The students really want to do something to support the family, in Tyler’s memory,” Walters said.

Gonzalez had been in the school district, he thought, since kindergarten, Walters said.

“He just seems to be a good kid, blended in, had some close friends and was well-liked,” he said.

A vigil is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday in the high school stadium, organized by the student body, he said.

Details will be announced after they are finalized for next week’s planned spaghetti feed fundraiser and car wash, according to Walters.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 4:38 pm and is filed under Top story of the day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.