Adam Jones death: Catch my son's hit-and-run killer, pleads mother
A devastated mother has pleaded for anyone who who can provide answers about who killed her 15-year-old son to 'do the right thing' as the first anniversary as his death approaches with still nobody having been brought to justice.
Adam Jones was killed by a hit-and-run driver in West Bromwich last March and Mandy Ruston says she will not be able to move on with her life until the person responsible for her son's death comes forward.
A huge police appeal was launched in the days following Adam's death, with images of the car involved being released in the hope somebody would have the vital piece of information to lead officers to their target.
West Bromwich Albion even helped boost the appeal by showing the images of the car to thousands on the big screen at the Hawthorns and it seemed like the net was closing in and it would be only a matter of time before the police would have their man. But almost a year on the trail appears to have gone cold with the distraught family no closer to the answers they desperately crave.
Mandy said her life has been put on hold and that it has been impossible to try and move on with the killer still free. Neither she or her husband Mark have returned to work.
She said: "It still feels raw, like it happened yesterday. There has been no closure at all. We are stuck in a rut at the moment. We don't have a normal life, we just know light and dark.
"The next step would be having a bit of closure, then we can deal with going back to work."
Adam was left to die after being hit by a Volkswagen Bora as he crossed at the junction of Beacon View Road and Walsall Road on March 26. He had been on his way to tend to horses at Sandwell Valley Country Park, where he was due to start an apprenticeship.
The collision propelled him through the front windscreen of the car, leaving him with catastrophic injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the car fled on foot and has never been traced.
Mandy admitted she never imagined she would be sitting at his graveside almost a year on with no-one having been caught.
"I thought it would be a matter of time," she said. "I thought when it happened the driver who ran off would give it a couple of weeks and come forward. There could have been a little bit of forgiveness if he had come forward but that has turned to hate."
But the determined mother insists she will never give up hope and is determined they day will come when her son's killer stands in front of a judge.
Mandy said: "The investigation is still ongoing. We have been assured there is still a lot of work being done. The appeals are still being shared on social media."
And she had a message for anyone who is sitting on vital information that could end their heartache: "Do the right thing. Stop protecting them; get them off the streets before he does this to someone else's family."
