The father who set out on an inspiring cross-country journey following his gay son's suicide was reportedly killed last night by a truck in Colorado, midway through his walk across America.
According to KTVB, Joe Bell died late last night after being struck and killed by a semi-truck. Officials said that the driver was charged with reckless driving and may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
After his 15-year-old son Jadin Bell killed himself after allegedly being bullied by classmates, Bell vowed he would walk cross-county, stopping to speak and raise awareness about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth along the way. Beginning in Oregon, he planned to walk 15 to 25 miles a day and speak on behalf of Faces For Change, an anti-bullying foundation established in his son's memory.
"We need to stop this bullying -- it starts in our households, how we raise our children," Bell said at the time. "We need to educate our school systems on how to deal with it; they don't know how to deal with the problem."
A memorial service is being held for Bell Oct. 10 at 5:30 p.m. MDT hosted by Ogden (UT) OUTreach. For more information visit the memorial service's Facebook page.
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