Two state lawmakers said yesterday they would attempt to ban teenagers from riding in the beds of pickup trucks after the death of a Kealakehe High School football player in a crash on Friday.

Royden Kalavi, 17, of Kailua, Kona, was killed when the pickup truck he was riding in was hit from behind by another vehicle, police said.

State law prohibits children 12 and younger from riding in the beds of pickups, but lawmakers who have wanted to expand the law have been unsuccessful.

"While the legislation was a major accomplishment to protect children, it doesn't go far enough to protect our teenagers, who are very often the ones who are riding in the back of pickup trucks," state Rep. Dennis Arakaki, D-30th (Moanalua, Kalihi Valley, 'Alewa), chairman of the House Health Committee, said in a statement.

Arakaki said he wants to expand the ban next session to cover teenagers up to age 17.

"It is simply too unsafe to let any of our keiki ride in the back of pickup trucks. We have to protect them," said state Rep. Josh Green, D-6th (Kailua, Keauhou), a Big Island doctor. "It breaks my heart to see teenagers in the ER after accidents like the one we experienced this past weekend in Kona."