OxfordPress.com

HAMILTON — Melissa Partin last talked to her son less than 20 minutes before his body was found near a highway by their home.

At around 9:45 p.m., Partin said she called and told her son, 14-year-old Tyler Reiff, that it was time for him to come home.

It was the last conversation she had with Tyler, who was killed Monday, Aug. 18, after being struck by two westbound vehicles on Ohio 129, about 900 feet east of Fair Avenue, police said..

Reiff, who was student of the month at the end of his eighth grade year at Garfield Middle School, died of complex skull fractures from the impact with the first vehicle that hit him, said Justin Weber, investigator with the Butler County Coroner's Office.

The driver of the first vehicle, Constance C. Shepherd, 56, of Hamilton, stayed at the scene and cooperated with police. Shepherd was not cited in the accident, but her car, a red Camaro, was taken by police as evidence.

Investigators are trying to locate the driver of the second vehicle that struck Reiff's body. It was traveling westbound in the left lane, but police do not have a description of the vehicle, said Hamilton Police spokesman Rich Burkhardt.

Officers do not know if Reiff was walking north or south, nor why the accident occurred so far away from his bike, Burkhardt said.

Emergency vehicles first responded to Kirk Avenue at around 10:03 p.m., after a passerby reported seeing an unconscious boy lying on the road by a bike. The first responders did not find a body there and were preparing to leave when they were waved over to the accident scene, about 300 feet east on Ohio 129, Burkhardt said.

Friends and family gathered at Tyler's home on Irene Avenue Tuesday, Aug. 19. Terry Reiff, Tyler's father, said his son would never cross the highway and never would have left his bike, which he custom built by himself with money earned from getting good grades.

"I would like to know what happened to him," Terry Reiff said. "He wouldn't let that bike out of his sight."

Garfield Middle School counselor Cindy Smith said the teen was a good student who liked a challenge. Even though he was already in high-level academic classes, Smith said Reiff asked to be put "in more rigourous classes."

"Months later not only were his grades above par, his team teachers named him student of the month," Smith said.

As a liaison for Newspapers in Education, Reiff would come to school early and deliver the JournalNews to all the classes, Smith said.

"He was quiet and well liked. It's so sad. He was such a nice young man," Smith said.

Tyler's aunt, Jennifer Partin, said her nephew "loved life," had a lot of friends and never got into trouble.

If you have information regarding the driver of the second vehicle, you are asked to call the Hamilton police traffic division at (513) 868-5811, ext. 2008.

Staff Writer Linda Ebbing contributed to this report.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2122 or rwilson@coxohio.com.