TEMPLE, Texas — Family and friends of 17-year-old Michael Moreno gathered in the Lake Belton High School student parking lot to honor him in a candlelight memorial Tuesday evening.
The Lake Belton High senior died in a car crash on the evening of Oct. 20.
Moreno, who is described as a reliable source of happiness and energy, drew out more than one hundred people to his parking spot. His family and friends took turns sharing their fond memories of him.
"He was always positive minded and always upbeat," said Kooper Hobson. "We have some of our best memories up here and it really means a lot that the whole community is coming together to support Michael and his family."
His group of friends said Moreno was someone you could always count on and he never met a stranger he didn't like.
"I don't think it was hard to not have a smile on your face when Michael was around," said Chasen Hamson.
Hamson said he always looked up to Moreno and enjoyed their bond over weightlifting. He described his late friend as compassionate. Madison Updyke, another friend of Moreno's, agreed.
"I think the best way to describe him, I would just say compassionate. He was just always there for you as a friend," she added.
Moreno died just 10 days before his 18th birthday. Although time was cut short, his friends and family never wants the memories to fade away.
"As we light these four candles in Michael's honor, we light one for our sadness, one for our memories, one for our determination and one for our love," Moreno's mom Amanda told the crowd at the vigil.
"He's gonna be living through us now," said Adam Walden. "We have his memories to keep us going and to impact our lives and in the future."
Colton Thompson was one of Moreno's best friends. One of his favorite memories he will cherish forever is going to see the "Barbie" movie with Moreno. He said Moreno's personality drew people to him and he was always the one cracking jokes and being goofy.
"Everyone liked him, everyone respected him as a person, as a friend, as a stranger," Thompson said. "Michael would have made himself known in the community. He would have made himself known with jokes or laughing or just you know, messing around with him you know, he would have, you would have known his presence when he when he got there."
A GoFundMe has been created to help Moreno's family with funeral expenses. If you are interested in donating to help the family, click here.
Moreno was looking forward to graduating in May and starting the next chapter of his life, according to the fundraiser. He enjoyed being active with some of his favorite hobbies including fishing, dove hunting and spending time with his friend. Moreno also had a love for sports, and always cheered on the Seattle Seahawks and Texas A&M Aggies.
He was extremely close to his mom, Amanda, and his sister, Maddie.
Friends of Moreno have put flowers by his parking spot in the student lot at Lake Belton High.
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