MANASSAS, Va. — The family of a 9-year-old boy hit and killed near an intersection in Prince William County identified him Wednesday as Mathew Vargas.
Fernando Vargas, Mathew Vargas’ father, said his son had run off from their home about three blocks from the crash site at Centreville Road and Leland Road in Manassas before 10:30 p.m. on Monday.
Fernando Vargas said his son had autism and ADHD. He was also non-verbal. Despite having locks on their door, the family questions how Mathew Vargas was able to get out.
“We had three locks,” Fernando Vargas told WUSA9. “One was electronic, one was a push button, and one other one was a mechanical one that was a gate lock that’s very hard to figure out and he did it. We searched the whole house because he likes to hide sometimes and then he likes to go to the neighbor’s house and we asked the neighbor if he went there and we walked around and we jumped in the cars.”
The family searched for roughly 10 minutes before they drove up to the scene where Mathew Vargas was hit.
Investigators said he was not in a crosswalk when he ran towards the road.
The driver, identified as 30-year-old Jacinto Morales of Centreville, stayed on scene. Witnesses quickly rushed to the scene to provide CPR, but the child later died at the hospital, according to Prince William County Police.
Morales has not been charged in his death but is charged with driving without a license, which was his third offense.
“I don’t blame him,” Fernando Vargas said. “It was my son’s condition that caused all of this.”
A GoFundMe page created to help his family with funeral expenses says Mathew Vargas was a beloved student at Yorkshire Elementary School. The GoFundMe has already raised more than $15,000.
Fernando Vargas added that his son started to run away from school, and that the school was looking to address with a plan starting this week.
The family is also asking the public to hold off on passing judgment as community members questioned why the child was out so late in the evening.
“Some parents don’t understand what we go through,” he said. “It’s very hard for us raising a special need kid with autism. You really don’t know what he wants or how he’s feeling. It’s very hard for us to raise one. To have him be taken away this way was very hard.”
The family is also ready to advocate for better devices to not only track but help communicate with children with autism, especially for those who run away. He believes having a bracelet that’s audible and can hook up to your phone that is also affordable would be a game changer.