Father of Winton hit-and-run victim speaks out

The father of a 16-year-old Winton boy spoke out Monday, asking for anyone with information about the incident that claimed his son’s life over the weekend to come forward.

Eric Ruiz was pronounced dead at 12:08 a.m. Sunday after Atwater police found his body lying in the roadway in the area of Shaffer Road and Della Drive, near Thomas Olaeta Elementary School. Investigators said there was a large debris field of pieces from the vehicle that struck him at the scene. No arrests have been made.

“I want to forgive them, but I need them to come forward before I can do that,” Eric’s father, Robert, told the Sun-Star on Monday. “I just need closure and until they face what they did, it’s just going to be an open wound.”

Robert Ruiz said he would even be willing to ask a judge for leniency in the case, saying he’s not looking for any retribution; he only wants to know what happened to his son.

“It all feels just so unreal right now,” Robert Ruiz said. “I keep waiting for him to come home, but he’s not going to come home.”

Investigation intensifies

Atwater police on Monday released several details of the evidence collected in the hopes of receiving help from the public to identify the person responsible for the death.

“Someone out there knows who this person is and knows about the damage to the vehicle,” Sgt. Dick Wisdom told the Sun-Star.

Police said they are looking for a black imported vehicle, likely a Honda or possibly a Toyota or Acura with moderate to major damage on the vehicle’s right-front end. The vehicle has special, modified headlights, police said.

“We’d like all the auto body shops and wrecking yards to be on the lookout for any vehicles that look that way,” Wisdom said. “It would be very important for that information to get back to us, if anyone knows about this vehicle or sees one like it.”

Wisdom said police are in contact with officials from the Thomas Olaeta school to determine whether any surveillance camera may have captured any footage of the incident for evidence.

Wisdom said investigators believe the incident occurred between 11:35 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. Saturday. Officers were first alerted to the incident at 11:51 p.m. by someone passing by the scene.

Teen’s skateboard missing

The night he died, Eric Ruiz had dinner with his father and played him a short video, showing off a new skateboard trick he’d landed recently.

Robert Ruiz and his son bonded through skateboards. He bought Eric a skateboard when his son moved into his Winton home in late 2013. “He used it until he broke it, he used it so much. Then I bought him another one, a really good one,” Robert Ruiz said.

Eric Ruiz may have been skateboarding on the night he was killed. The skateboard has not been found. Robert Ruiz said he desperately wants to find the skateboard and is clinging to the hope someone will return it.

“It’s really important to me to get it back. It was his favorite thing to do. He was getting really good,” Robert Ruiz said. “I want to hang it up in my house. It’s just very, very important to me.”

‘Many unanswered questions’

Eric Ruiz was the third oldest of five biological siblings and also had a stepbrother. Eric Ruiz’s older brother, Robert Nathaniel, described his younger brother as a warm, funny, charismatic person with a sharp intellect and a natural musical talent.

“He was a gentleman, he always sticks up for his friends,” Robert Nathaniel Ruiz said. “He was smart; he liked all the subjects in his school. He really loved Atwater High School.”

The Ruiz family said finding the person responsible is the most important thing to the family right now.

“There are so many unanswered questions right now,” Robert Ruiz said. “We want to know what happened.”

“Anyone who can do anything at all, please do anything possible to help the police,” Robert Nathaniel Ruiz said. “He was such an awesome kid. Please say whatever information you have to help him.”

Police have stressed that anyone providing information can remain anonymous.

Atwater police are asking anyone with information about the case to contact Wisdom, Detective David Brum or Officer Scott Duncan at (209) 357-6396. Tips are confidential and callers may remain anonymous.

This story was originally published January 26, 2015 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Father of Winton hit-and-run victim speaks out."