KANEOHE (HawaiiNewsNow) - The father of a 21-year-old man killed in a traffic incident in Windward Oahu earlier this week says he hopes other young people will learn from the tragedy and act responsibly.
A colorful arrangement of flowers and a pair of balloons mark the site where Robert Arruda's son was fatally injured.
"Whether he knows if I loved him, I don't know," the grieving father said through tears. "I'd like to let him know now that I do."
The Honolulu Medical Examiner's office says Jason Arruda -- a Castle High grad who most recently was working for a roofing company -- died from head and brain trauma Monday, after he fell from a moving truck on Kamehameha Highway near Wailehua Road Sunday night.
Robert was told that his son was arguing with his girlfriend while they were on a beer run with another couple, and that Jason had climbed through a window out of the cab and into the bed of the pickup before hitting the pavement.
The vehicle kept going.
"Why she didn't notify the driver to stop?" Robert Arruda said. "I'm not saying he would have still be here, but at least he had a fighting chance."
The young man's sudden death -- on his mother's birthday -- comes as his family deals with a medical crisis.
"This is hard, hard on my wife," Robert Arruda said. "I'm battling stage four cancer. They can't do anything for me."
Police have opened a failure to render aid case and are seeking witnesses.
Robert says the last thing he said to his son was make sure you come home early.
"Kids need to realize that when the parents are talking to them, we do it with love," he said through tears.
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Robert Arruda
Jason Arruda
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