Having a hearing deficit does not preclude one from getting driver's license in Oregon. There's actually a box to check on the application if you have a deficit or are deaf.
I have a daughter who has a 95% hearing deficit and because she was not fitted with hearing aids while in foster care until age four, she reads lips. She doesn't drive, however, due to cognitive issues. I can actually mouth words to her though a closed window (or across a crowded room) and she can perfectly understand. However, she must be facing a person to communicate. Has it been reported if Bethany wears hearing aids? I've looked at all her photos and not seen them. Often, glasses can be difficult for people who wear hearing aids as they will cause the aids to buzz. My daughter refuses to wear sunglasses on even the brightest days for that reason.
A couple of other things I noticed is that the first article linked above says that Bethany had just gotten a job. She had recently moved from Idaho to Vancouver, which is right over the Columbia River from Portland, OR. It also says:
"Just after 7:30 p.m.,
Bethany Storro was walking in the area of 8th and Columbia in Vancouver when another female engaged the 28-year-old Storro in a brief conversation.
Storro, who was going to a Starbucks in the area, was getting something out of her car when she heard: "Hey pretty little girl, want to take a drink of this?"
This is a confusing statement with only one possible explanation IMO. It sounds as if Bethany had been walking or shopping in the area or possibly coming from the interview, stopped by her parked car to get something and heard the woman call out to her. This would make sense to me. If my daughter heard someone address her, she would swing around to look. She would then understand perfectly what was said. The walking and getting something out of a car don't really match up IMO unless this was the scenario.
It's been sunny in Oregon and southern Washington this week and possibly Bethany purchased the sunglasses as Vancouver can be pretty gloomy. I just wonder if the sun was brighter than she expected in the downtown area.
I also noticed this:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38981535/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
"Meanwhile, the Vancouver Columbian newspaper reported that law enforcement officials in Vancouver had spoken to officials in another city about a similar attack. The paper said a police lieutenant from Puyallup, Wash., south of Seattle, said his department had spoken to Vancouver officials about the July 30 incident.
In that attack, 23-year-old woman was approached in an apartment complex parking lot by a man who said he'd been locked out of his apartment and needed water for his vehicle. When she returned with a container of water for him, the suspect threw on acidic substance on her using a cup."
The woman suffered severe chemical burns to her face and eyes. Police described the suspect in that case as a husky black man about 5-foot-10 with two distinctive marks on his right cheek...."
This might be of interest as Bethany's brother lives in Seattle and has written about Bethany and her terrible ordeal on his FB page. I wonder if Bethany has recently visited her brother in Seattle. That's only 35 miles from Puyallup, WA, where the other attack occurred.