Amador County student Dylan Yoacham, 15, killed in Sutter Creek hit-and-run

Dylan Yoacham was a sophomore at Amador High School. The driver was later found and arrested.

SUTTER CREEK, Calif. — Dylan Yoacham, a sophomore at Amador High School, died Wednesday night after being hit by a car the night before in Sutter Creek, according to the Sutter Creek Police Department.

The Sutter Creek Police Department wrote in a Facebook post that around 8:35 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17, he was crossing a roadway near Highway 49 and Valley View Way in Sutter Creek with another person. The teen was hit by a car and taken to a trauma center in Sacramento where he later died.

The driver of the car left the area but was later found and identified as Matthew Galea, 40, of Shingle Springs. He was booked into Amador County Jail on suspicion of felony hit and run. 

“We’re all trying to kind of just take it all in right now,” said Jesse La Vielle, Yoacham’s brother. “You know, it happens too sudden and shouldn’t happen to a 15-year-old.”

La Vielle said he got word of the crash from a call from his mom late that night.

“She usually doesn’t do anything like that,” he said. “She was just crying and I just threw my shoes on… she just told me Sutter Hill, and I jumped in my truck and drove over there.”

From there, he said they went to the hospital.

“We went to the hospital and took it from there… I knew from what I saw that he was going to be too late,” La Vielle said.

He said as the days passed since his brother’s passing, his family has no hate for the person who hit and killed Dylan.

“You know, he knows what he did. And he has to live with that for the rest of his life,” La Vielle said. “And us hating him or wanting bad for him isn’t gonna do anything for us.”

“My little brother was the most loving man I’ve ever met, more than anybody I’ve ever known,” La Vielle said. “And he wouldn’t want that. He wouldn’t want that hate. He always wanted to be the peacekeeper.”

La Vielle told ABC10 he opened an El Dorado savings bank account today for him — the Dylan Yoacham Memorial Fund. 

“People said that they would rather send money to our hometown than do it over the internet like that,” he said.

The address for the account for those who would like to donate is:

The El Dorado savings bank, 135 Main Street PO Box 727, Jackson, California 95642

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information can call the Sutter Creek Police Department at (209) 267-5646. 

A GoFundMe was also created to help cover Yoacham’s funeral expenses.

“Dylan at 15 had touched so many lives with his amazing personality and laughter that he often shared with others. The family asks for continued prayers and some time to start processing this tragedy,” a GoFundMe fundraiser reads.

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