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 Linda Thomas
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Linda is the morning news anchor and features reporter for KIRO Radio. This is her local news blog, with an emphasis on social media, technology, Northwest companies, education, parenting, and anything else that grabs her attention.

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The boy who killed himself on I-5

January 26, 2011 @ 2:34 am (Updated: 3:46 pm - 3/28/11 )

Last Friday a teenager jumped off a I-5 overpass, fell to the freeway below, was struck by a van, and died. Many people heard a little bit about what happened because Northbound I-5 was closed for several hours and traffic backed up miles during the afternoon commute.

Who was he?

Listen to this report

He was 15 years old, born in December of 1995. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner identifies him as Roger Eugene Benson.

When Benson was three years old, he was taken away from his parents.

"Any child who becomes a dependent of child welfare is a victim of child abuse or neglect," says Sherry Hill, with the state Children's Administration. "It has to reach a point of questions of a child's safety in order to be actually removed from their parents."

For the next 12 years the bounced around from one home or facility to the next. During that time the state worked "cooperatively" with the Yakama Tribal Court and the Yakama Tribal Child Welfare Agency to provide services for the boy.

Hill says it's not typical for a child to be a ward of the state for that many years.

"In most cases we do whatever we can to find permanency for children, whether they return home or whether they end up with relatives," she says.

This wasn't one of those cases of "permanency." He was involved in several crimes over the years.

On January 7, 2011 he was placed in a group home in Lynnwood. The facility describes itself as a behavioral rehabilitation service.

"On January 21st he ran away from the facility in the afternoon at 1:45 p.m. and law enforcement was immediately notified," says Hill.

He left the group home at 1:45 in the afternoon. Fifteen minutes later he was on an I-5 overpass. A witness, who was also walking on the overpass, told investigators it looked like the 15 year old kneeled down momentarily. At 2:06 in the afternoon he jumped to his death. He committed suicide.

There are people who know more about Benson, but they can't talk about him due to privacy laws. While the state will investigate "the fatality," as they call it, there's not more more they'll say.

Hill says, "Everyone needs to always pay attention to the youth around them, whether they're in State care or whether they're at home."

A spokesperson for the Lynnwood facility the teen ran away from says it "was extremely sad to hear of a young life that has been lost, and this is a very tragic situation. Our hearts and our prayers go out to the family and friends of this young man."

Related story: News we don't report - suicide

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (16)


  • Add A Comment

  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    Teen jumps to death from I-5 overpass
    January 26, 2011 7:21 am
    Linda. Thank you for telling us the human side of boy this troubled soul. We now know who he was where he was born and how old and a little of his short troubled life and not just something that cause miles long backup on I-5 that afternoon.

    Just remember this. Everyone of us has the potentual to be in that situation.

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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    And yet we hear about childless couples who would do anything to have a kid......
    January 26, 2011 7:24 am
    As people who hope to impose their personal moralities on others by outlawing abortion are wont to say, "It's a crime to abort babies when there are loving families who would do anything to have a kid!"

    Apparently anything except welcome a child who has been under the jurisdiction of the Yakama Tribal Child Welfare Agency, has been bounced through a series of foster homes and temporary situations, and has had some minor brushes with the law.

    The article emphasizes the importance of permanence in a child's life. That has to be true. Growing up and figuring out who you are is tough enough without wondering where you are going to live, or with whom. No kid should be made to feel like he or she is all alone in the world and that nobody cares about them.

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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    A need for color-blindness on both sides...
    January 26, 2011 7:48 am
    To be entirely fair, sometimes there is far too much emphasis placed on keeping kids within a specific "ethnic" environment. Don't know that to be the case with the Yakama Child Welfare group; but just as more people should be willing to adopt across racial or ethnic lines agencies responsible for these kids should realize that a loving home is of paramount importance. Whether a kid will be raised in such-and-such a culture is far less important than whether the kid will be raised by people who care about him or her.
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  • boeingmarcus wrote...
    Ironic
    January 26, 2011 8:07 am
    Your website doesn't even put this in a top stories. I also thank you for doing this report Linda. I was in the traffic back up, said a prayer for the person, didn't know until today who he was. RIP
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  • LeonardH wrote...
    Glossed Over
    January 26, 2011 8:30 am
    A child kidnapped at 3 years old and raised by the state almost has no chance at life. Sherry Hill is utilizing DoubleSpeak and SPIN. The TRUTH of why the state kidnapped him may be substantially different. The teen had committed several CRIMES over the years while in state custody and landed in a "behavioral rehab" institution. For the uninitiated, this means he was DRUGGED. AKA "chemical restraint". You have watched the various drug commercials on TV where there's 20 seconds of ad and 40 seconds of warning disclaimer, which almost always includes "suicidal ideation". You will probably never hear the truth, because it's "confidential". Leonard Henderson, co-founder American Family Rights http://familyrights.us "Until Every Child Comes Home"© "The Voice of America's Families"©
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  • Monte wrote...
    Nice work, Linda
    January 26, 2011 8:43 am
    Thanks for not letting this pass without telling us about this child's life.
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  • jpetro wrote...
    Great story
    January 26, 2011 10:59 am
    Linda, thank you! It is a tragedy when ANY child kills themselves. Regardless of their family and history. Many children that have parents still have no permanence or good guidence in their lives, and this is as equally a shame and dis service to the child.
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  • Lovingfitfather wrote...
    CA,CPS,Family Court.
    January 26, 2011 11:33 am
    CPS is the Child abuse epidemic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaXINizSj7E&feature=player_embedded
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  • shark75 wrote...
    A Selfish Punk
    January 26, 2011 3:24 pm
    He had to imprison thousands of people in their cars and dirupt their lives. People needing emergency medical attention that got stuck in the back-up who may have lost their lives because of this worthess soul. I feel for those driven to the point of suicide, but once they involve the lives of others, it erases all my sypathy for these selfish morons. 97.3 reported this morning and just about acted like this kid is a hero and that he is now in heavan. BS, he’s in hell for taking his own life.
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  • ohreally wrote...
    I have a 15 year old
    January 26, 2011 4:50 pm
    It is difficult enough being 15 in a so called normal household. I can't imagine what this boy went through in his daily life not having a stable family. You have to be hurting a great deal to take your life in such a manner and I do not believe the boy will be in "hell" because he is still considered a child in God's eyes. I sat in that traffic and out of respect for that boy's life I am fine with it.
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