Oregan man walking to promote change due to gay son's suicide killed in Colorado

KIT CARSON, Colo. (AP) — An Oregon man who lost his gay son to suicide and was walking across the country to raise awareness about bullying is dead after being hit by a truck in Colorado.

The Colorado State Patrol says 48-year-old Joseph Bell of La Grande, Ore. died Wednesday after being struck along a two-lane highway in a rural area 20 miles northwest of Kit Carson. Investigators believe the driver fell asleep.

Bell's 15-year-old son, Jadin, died in February after hanging himself in a schoolyard. He had reported being bullied but he didn't leave a suicide note.

Bell began his walk in April and planned to finish on the Delaware coast.

The truck driver, 49-year-old Kenneth Raven, of Bryan, Texas, has been charged with careless driving resulting in death, a misdemeanor.

editor's note- Joe Bell was due to travel through Oklahoma City during his walk and an interview had been scheduled with The Gayly.  The Gayly wishes to express its sympathies to his wife, Lola of La Grange.