Friends, family and perfect strangers gathered in Plymouth, Massachusetts to remember the life of Claire Zisserson on Sunday.
Zisserson, who should have been celebrating her 14th birthday, was killed by an alleged drunk driver last weekend in Plymouth, an incident which left her friend, Kendall Zemotel, seriously hurt and still hospitalized.
The vigil was held at Brewster Gardens in Plymouth.
"It's really tough to lose a best friend like that, but I have a lot of people here supporting me through this tough time," said Zach Adams, a friend of Zisserson's.
Zisserson was a student at Rising Tide Charter School in Plymouth, where students return to class on Monday. Grief counselors will be on hand to help students cope.
"Everyone was in a lot of shock because it happened so fast," Adams said. "They just couldn't believe what was going or didn't wanna believe it was real."
Gregory Goodsell, 31, of Marshfield, is charged with manslaughter while under the influence in connection with this tragedy. He has since admitted to drinking and taking cocaine before getting behind the wheel.
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"Claire has been an amazing family member of our school and the loss of any family member is as hard as it gets," said Michael O'Keefe of Rising Tide Charter, who attended the vigil. "Despite the pain, what they spread tonight was love."
