MODESTO -- The California Highway Patrol is investigating a hit-and-run fatality southwest of Keyes on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
The incident began with reports of someone pushing garbage out of a trailer being pulled by a truck on East Taylor Road at Moffett Road at about 2 p.m.
It ended a few minutes later with the death of a man who allegedly was chasing after the people dumping the trash near his family's property.
California Highway Patrol officer Sharon Milne responded to the initial report and was in the process of clearing the roadway strewn with clothing, bags of garbage, recyclables and more when a call came through of an apparent hit-and-run.
A man was lying in Keyes Road between Carpenter and Ustick roads, according to the caller.
Milne went to that scene and gave this account of what happened:
A family that lives in the 800 block of Taylor Road, a few miles from where witnesses first reported trash being dumped, saw the person in the truck and trailer dumping trash near their home.
One of the residents, Stanley Roy Hyer, 52, got on an all-terrain vehicle and gave chase, apparently riding a dirt path along a canal. Hyer’s father followed, but in a car and on the road.
When Hyer’s father got to Keyes Road, he saw his son’s ATV near the canal and his son on the ground, about 30 yards away.
No one witnessed what caused Hyer’s injuries but Milne said he was likely hit by the truck hauling the trash, which had left the scene.
The ATV didn’t have any damage so Milne suspects Hyer was on foot, maybe chasing after the truck.
Emergency personnel who arrived attempted life-saving measures, but Hyer died at the scene.
The CHP is looking for the driver and possible passenger of the truck and trailer.
The truck is white and lowered, possibly a Chevrolet or Ford.
The trailer is white with wood sides.
Bee staff writer Erin Tracy can be reached at etracy@modbee.com or (209) 578-2366. Follow her on Twitter @ModestoBeeCrime.
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