Tribute for Jason Edwards, who died when his wheelchair was hit by a car on Brighton Rd

A heartbroken mother say she is still shattered months after her son was hit and killed while using his wheelchair.

Jan Edwards will forever hold on to the last words her son said to her just an hour before he was hit by a car and killed at Brighton in February.

“Before our conversation finished he said … ‘you know mum I love you, and I love everything you do for me,” Ms Edwards said.

“I giggled and said ‘I know you do.’

“I’m so lucky that happened … it’s something to hold on to.”

Supplied Editorial Jason Edwards with his mother Jan Edwards. Picture: supplied

Jason Edwards 47, was travelling on the footpath along Brighton Rd on his way to his local pub just after 7pm on February 19 when a car exiting a service station hit him.

The Brighton man died at the scene.

A Happy Valley woman, 26, was charged with aggravated due care over the crash and will face the Christies Beach Magistrates Court on Friday.

Nearly four months on from his death, those close to Jason are still devastated including his mum and dad Simon.

Supplied Editorial Jason Edwards with his brother Wes. Picture: supplied

“I still expect to be able to get a phone call from him, even now,” Ms Edwards said.

“Time is never going to change it, it just makes it easier to cope with.”

She remembered her son as being a loving and tough man who never let his disability define him.

Mr Edwards was born paralysed with spina bifida and underwent more than 40 surgeries in his lifetime, many on his back.

“There was no can’t – it wasn't in his vocabulary and that was from us, because that’s how we brought him up,” she said.

Jason Edwards with Supercar driver Simona de Silvestro. Picture: supplied

“His wheelchair wasn’t his disability at all and he never moaned or groaned about anything in life.

“He was just a very strong tough guy, Jason was bullet proof.”

He left behind a brother, Wes Edwards, 44, and a sister, Jodi Lambe, 49.

Mr Edwards was well loved in the Brighton community and often stopped to chat to people in their front yards. He was a regular at the Esplanade Hotel.

Jason Edwards died after he was hit by a car on Brighton Rd in February. Picture: supplied

He also competed for many years in his youth in the Wheelchair Sports Association’s South Australian team which took him across the country.

He competed in track and field events including wheelchair sprints and discus, as well as basketball.

Ms Edwards misses her son’s unconditional love the most.

“He was tough … and he depended and trusted me implicitly with decision making regarding his health,” she said.

“I fought for him all his life to keep him safe, that’s my other thing, I couldn’t keep him safe that night.”