Oregon teen hit by car donates organs so others can live
The Rainier community is rallying behind Alex Mueller’s family after the 16-year-old was hit by a car in Longview last week.
By Chandler Watkins
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RAINIER, Oregon (KPTV) — The Rainier community is rallying behind Alex Mueller’s family after the 16-year-old was hit by a car in Longview last week.
According to Sandi Mueller, Alex’s mom, he and some friends were at a swimming hole along Mt. Solo Road last Tuesday in Longview.
“That stretch of road, there’s no parking on the side of the road where the pit is,” said Sandi. “They all have to park across the road. It’s a 50 mph main thoroughfare. I guess Alex was crossing the road, stumbled into the road, we don’t know, but someone hit him.”
Alex was rushed to Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland, but after several days, his family decided to take him off of life support and donate his organs.
“We had a really strong feeling he wasn’t coming home,” said Bryan Mueller, Alex’s dad. “We decided if we could save somebody else’s life by donating, then we are going to try it. He passed away at 5:47 and by 11 o’ clock last night he had already saved 5 lives.”
The community came together for the Mueller family; at the little league field where Alex used to play, #TeamAlex signs have been put up and donations are being taken for the family.
“I’ve lived here all my life,” said Bryan. “Although we have a lot of new people in town, we’ve gotten to know a lot of them and we are strong. There are people who we have no idea who they are and they are showing up for us and giving us all this support and prayers. Oh my goodness it’s unbelievable. Not just here, everywhere. We know now that Alex touched a lot of lives, not just here in Rainier but in the surrounding areas too. He just loved people. He had a heart of gold.”
They say they don’t blame the driver who hit Alex and what happened was an accident.
“This was not her fault,” said Sandi. “We were actually just supplied her name by the Longview Police Department. We have not reached out to her yet, but we will be. This was not her fault. I don’t even know if it was my son’s fault. It doesn’t matter because the result is the same. Lives were affected. Alex’s ended. I feel so bad for her because she has to live with that memory. It rips us up. I hope she’s had the support that we’ve had. Nobody should have to go through this.”
His parents thank Randall Children’s staff and their community for the outpouring of help and support they’ve received over the last week.
“Alex lived life to the fullest,” said Sandi. “He was very much into the outdoors. He loved to hunt and fish. He was a huge athlete from the time he was 5. He really shoved a lot of life into his 16 years. He could just light up a room.”
“Just love your kids every day,” said Bryan. “Hug ‘em, kiss ‘em, because you don’t know when the last time will be.”
A car rally is being planned for this Saturday to bring awareness to drivers and pedestrians to be careful, especially on the stretch of road where the swimming hole is, Mt. Solo Road. It’s set to start at Rainier High School at 10 a.m., drivers will then cross the Columbia River and drive past the swimming hole, and the procession will end at Willow Grove Park in Longview.
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