Friends speculating on Facebook about hit-and-run death


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SALT LAKE CITY — Authorities in Utah County say a 17-year-old boy may have been walking home Friday night when he was hit and killed by a car. They still don't know who was driving, or why that person didn't stop. It appears the teen's parents are turning to Facebook for some answers.

Before he died, Nate Haun was at a party where people were allegedly drinking. Investigators say that could be part of the reason why the kids have been reluctant to talk, but some kids are talking on Facebook.

"There's still so much chatter," said Preston Haun, Nate's father. "We're getting all kinds of stuff on there."

Friends have flooded Nate Haun's Facebook page with kind words and memories, but his parents have noticed some eye-catching posts on other pages too.

"Rumors, speculation, you know," Haun said. "truths, half-truths, I don't know."

Kids are naming names, even speculating about a motive. Authorities say they're aware of it.

"Someone saying that they know what happened, they know where it happened and they know who was involved," said Sgt. Spencer Cannon, Utah County Sheriff's office. "We haven't been able to verify any of that and a couple of statements of that nature, we've been able to determine, in fact, were not accurate."

Nate's parents say they didn't know he was going to a party when he left his house Friday night with a friend.

"According to police, Nate didn't know anybody at the party but his friend did. That's how they ended up at the party," Haun said.


We haven't been able to verify any of that and a couple of statements of that nature, we've been able to determine, in fact, were not accurate.

–Sgt. Spencer Cannon


He says Nate and his friend separated at 2 a.m. Nate got in a car with some other kids. Investigators say he was dropped off about a mile from where he was hit.

Authorities don't know if the person who hit Nate was at the same party and if his death was an accident or intentional.

"they know that they hit him so hard the bumper had crushed his femur," Haun said.

He says whoever it was had to have known what had happened.

"One of the pieces the last couple of days has made us feel a little better to know that he didn't suffer, that he died on impact," Haun said.

Still, he says, the family can't begin to move on until they know what happened to their son.

"I don't know how you could live with killing somebody," Haun said.

They say surveillance cameras at the Salem Public Works Building show three cars driving on the road early Saturday, one of them belonging to the woman who saw Nate's body. They're still trying to enhance that video.

Investigators say, they're more concerned with what happened to Nate than any underage drinking that was going on at the party.

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Sandra Yi

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