In Snap Of A Finger, Nothing Is Same For 2 Boys, Small Town

MOLALLA, Ore. - Instead of playing in the most important football game of Molalla High School's 69-year-history, Richard Williams watched his team lose a chance to play in the state championship from the sidelines.

About a month ago, the 17-year-old shattered his own dreams and the town's heart when he hit another teenager with his truck. The boy fell to the ground, bleeding. Richard panicked and sped away.

Hours later, Richard confessed to his parents, hoping they'd tell him what to do. His mother and stepfather told him not to worry, they'd take care of it.

They drove the maroon pickup to a relative's home just across the California border, hid it, and told their son not to tell anyone.

Police found Richard and unraveled his parents' plot. Richard, the star running back on Molalla's football team, was suspended from the playoff game and now is facing criminal charges. His parents are accused of hindering prosecution and could go to prison for five years.

Meanwhile, Beau Hailey, the 13-year-old boy who was hit as he walked to school sits at home in a wheelchair with two broken legs. It will be at least a month before he can walk again.

Authorities later ruled it an accident, saying Richard would not have been charged with a crime had he not left.

"In a snap of a finger, this kid changed his life and the life of another boy," said Mike Clarke, Molalla's football coach. "It all comes down to his moment of indecision. . . . And that moment when his parents did the wrong thing."

Molalla's high-school football team made the playoffs this year for the first time since the school opened in 1925. Players' pictures hang in store windows in the town of 4,000 in south Clackamas County.

Although only 5 feet 8 and 160 pounds, Richard was the top rusher and most inspirational player on the team. Molalla won its first playoff game over The Dalles. Seaside and the quarterfinals were next.

But only days after the playoff win, word of Richard's role in the accident spread through town.

Richard was on his way to practice on Oct. 27 when he saw a boy darting across Highway 213 in the crosswalk. He tried to stop but couldn't. His truck swerved and knocked Beau Hailey to the asphalt. The bones in the lanky boy's right leg poked through his skin.

Richard looked in his rearview mirror and saw a crowd gather. He panicked. He thought he saw the boy starting to get up.

"My instinct told me to stay," he said. "But I was so scared, I couldn't believe it had happened. I pulled away and got out of the car. I just was standing there going, `What do I do, what do I do, what do I do . . .' "

He climbed back into the pickup, went to football practice and then drove home to tell his parents.

"My dad was really worried. He wanted to make sure that I wasn't freaking out, that I didn't need to go to the nuthouse over this," Richard said. "He told me the best thing to do is hide it. My mom agreed. I guess they were scared, too."

As Richard's parents plotted how to get rid of the car, the Haileys drove to University Hospital in Portland. Beau spent six days there.

A little more than a week later, police questioned Richard. He told them he hit the boy and fled, Clackamas County sheriff's investigators say. Now Richard faces charges of felony hit and run, and driving with a suspended license and no insurance.

Molalla school officials learned of the charges two days after the win over The Dalles. He was off the team five days before the state quarterfinals.

"I should have stayed," Richard says now. "But it's all too late now. Everything is too late."

Molalla lost the playoff game against Seaside 36-7.

Some people feel sorry for Richard, blaming his parents, who have criminal histories. Richard won't blame them.

"You're supposed to think your parents are right," he said. "I respect them, and they told me to do what they thought was right."

His mother, Barbara Williams, 40, and stepfather, Tommy Dean Becker, 35, declined to comment.

Beau Hailey has been out of school for more than a month, and will be for another few weeks as his legs heal. A physical therapist comes to their home once a week to help Beau exercise his broken legs.

"I just don't see how he could've kept going," Beau said. "He knew he hit me, and he just left me there."