ESTACADA, Ore. -- More than a hundred truck drivers created a mile-long procession Saturday morning to honor the inspector killed last week in a cruel murder.
Grady Waxenfelter, a weighmaster for Clackamas County, was murdered when he pulled over a truck without license plates.
The suspect is still at large.
On Saturday, Grady's family and friends gathered for a private memorial service in Estacada.
Before the service, more than a hundred men and women drove their big-rig trucks from Oregon City to Estacada as a special tribute to Grady with a police escort.
Many of the drivers only knew Grady from his work as a weighmaster.
He was the inspector who'd check their trucks for violations in Clackamas County.
"I want to show support to his family. He didn't deserve what we got. He was a well-liked man. He did his job and got along with most everybody," said a trucker who hauls logs.
"I've been through some of his inspections. He was an awesome guy. He was more than fair," said a man who drives a dump truck.
"I liked Grady. I used to pull over when he was inspecting trucks just to talk to him. Everybody liked him. We're here to show respect," said another trucker who hauls logs.
In life, these drivers share a professional and sometimes prickly relationship with inspectors like Grady.
"He inspected me a couple of times," said another truck driver, waiting to climb into his rig for the procession. "It's funny because we don't want to see him. He's like an enemy to us. He didn't deserve what he got, by no means."
The procession included dump trucks, cement trucks, fire trucks, moving trucks, tow trucks, trucks that haul logs, trash, rocks, and more.
From the first to last, the trucks took 10 to 15 minutes to pass.
There is a $7,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.
