Family of 12-year-old hit and killed by car hope his death sparks change

A grieving family is remembering their young boy as a ball of energy. 12-year-old Lucas Roulston loved to be outside and had a huge smile.

Lucas’ family says he had autism and wandered outside into the intersection, where he was hit by a car.

“His smile, he had this huge smile when you, you know, walk into the house or he greets you, you instantly smile as well. I mean, he was a character. He was amazing,” said Ashley Danielle, Lucas’s aunt.

Luca’s aunt said his family did everything they could to keep him safe, including special locks for the doors. When Lucas wandered out of the house on Friday night, he was only gone for a matter of minutes before tragedy struck.

He was hit by a car and later died from his injuries.

“They had things in place, and this still happened. And so they want to potentially create something, a nonprofit or something to raise awareness, something where there’s support for families who might not be able to get these sorts of things for their houses,” said Danielle.

Lucas’s middle school teacher Laura Voellinger said he loved hats and puzzles. She said being non-verbal didn’t slow him down.

“His smile really did light up a room. He came in the morning with his mom, usually, sometimes his dad, and the office staff even loved it when he came in because even though he was nonverbal, he always knew how to communicate with everybody,” said Voellinger.

Lucas’ family plans to have a celebration of life for him soon.

“And that’s been another thing that’s been awesome is to just hear all these stories of our sweet Lukey. And to see the outpouring of support for the family because of how amazing he was and how loved he was,” Danielle said.

Florida Highway Patrol says the crash that killed Lucas is still under investigation.