W.Va. man killed in Oakland hit-and-run 'found the beauty in things,' family recalls

James Jerry “J.J.” Vas-Patterson wasn’t born into an easy life.

After his father died unexpectedly on Sept. 7, 2010, when Vas-Patterson was just 10 years old, he and his younger brothers entered foster care, family members said Wednesday.

Later, he added Patterson to his last name after being adopted by his grandmother and settling in Dailey, W.Va., a town of 114 people set deep in the Monongahela National Forest, two hours south of Morgantown by car.

Into adulthood, Vas-Patterson never used a cellphone, according to his family. It was not uncommon for his mother, with whom he lived in Morgantown, to not speak with him for extended periods of time. Vas-Patterson’s sister said she last saw him at a graduation ceremony in May.

“Even though things have been extremely difficult for him in his life, he found the beauty in things,” said his sister, Laurin Vas, 26, of Rochester, N.Y., who is entering a career in health care. “He was a good person.”

Nobody had heard from Vas-Patterson for several weeks this summer. Then, his family received word that Vas-Patterson had been killed Sunday night in what Pittsburgh police suspect was a fatal hit-and-run accident in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood.

He was 23.

Pittsburgh police said they found Vas-Patterson suffering from severe head injuries just before 10 p.m. in the 2300 block of Second Avenue. He was pronounced dead at the scene about an hour later.

Police are investigating, spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released a cause or manner of death.

Vas-Patterson was the middle child of five siblings, now ages 17 to 27, his family said. The two oldest siblings, Thomas Vas and Laurin Vas, have a different mother than the three younger boys.

“For everybody, that didn’t matter,” Laurin Vas told the Tribune-Review. “We were just a big, blended family.”

The family had roots in Lockport, N.Y., a Niagara Falls suburb about 30 miles north of Buffalo, the siblings said. They relocated to West Virginia when the children were young.

Vas-Patterson graduated in 2018 from Tygarts Valley High School in Mill Creek, W.Va., where he played football and basketball, said his brother, Thomas Vas, 27, a coal miner who now lives in the Morgantown area.

He later attended Pierpont Community and Technical College in Fairmont, W.Va., about 85 miles from the family’s native Dailey, his family said.

His family said Vas-Patterson’s true love, which he shared with his father, was skateboarding. When they lived in Dailey, Laurin Vas would drive her brother a few miles up U.S. Route 219 to a skatepark in Elkins, W.Va., to practice his moves.

He enjoyed playing video games with family and friends, especially the PlayStation game “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater,” Thomas Vas said. He also loved to paint and once adorned a discarded TV set with painted characters from the show “Adventure Time.”

Vas-Patterson also had a way with words.

“He was just like a smooth talker — ‘charming,’ my mom said,” Laurin said. “Not everybody has that confidence when they speak. He could probably sell anyone anything.”

Vas-Patterson’s family said he might have been passing through Allegheny County on his way to New York to visit his sister.

It appears Vas-Patterson might have been in the Pittsburgh area since at least July, based on online court records showing that McKees Rocks police charged him on July 16 with retail theft.

A McKees Rocks police official said Wednesday that officers mailed out the citation last month. Since Vas-Patterson died, however, the official said the charge would be withdrawn.

In recent years, Vas-Patterson had been working in construction, specifically sheeting and roofing, in West Virginia, his siblings said. His father was a carpenter before he died 13 years ago.

“I just can’t believe this is happening again — now with our brother,” Laurin Vas said. “There are lots of tears. My poor little brothers, I don’t think they know how to handle it. Definitely lots of tears, lots of hugs. We’re trying to be there for each other.”

“Both of them dying within 13 years of each other? Not too many people have their father and their brother die so close and so young,” Thomas Vas added.

The family said it is working to raise $3,000 for Vas-Patterson’s funeral services. People can donate at www.gofundme.com/f/james-jerry-vaspatterson.

Laurin Vas also had a message for the person responsible for her brother’s death.

“I know that person is going to have to live with the guilt of what they did,” she said. “I just hope justice happens and someone is held accountable for it.”

Pittsburgh police had made no arrests in the case as of late Wednesday afternoon.