Four visitations, four funerals, four boys gone. Two from Glendale and two from Kickapoo. History has mandated that these south side rivals must play — and sometimes push — against the other. But around 4:30 p.m. Jan. 5, these rivalry lines and highway boundaries blurred as one car crested a hill and slammed into a nearby tree, killing occupants Young Kim, James Robinson, Zach Whittet and James Gangwes.

The result tolled across the city as text messages and Facebook postings spread the news to peers as soon as the names were made known.

“Someone sent me a text message, then I saw the group on Facebook,” senior Amanda Steele said. “I was shocked; I didn’t think it could actually happen.”

Shock… then grief.

Then rumors. Speculation poured. Questions were raised that no one could answer.

In the aftermath, students, staff and community members rallied to help remember the four boys. Senior Alex Moffe assembled a memorial gathering at Phelps Grove Park on Jan. 19, extending invitations to students from Glendale, Kickapoo and community members.

“It was really cold, but I would want someone to do the same for me,” Moffe said.

The memorial consisted of live music from The Russell West Project, then a rendition of “Amazing Grace” sung by seniors Kylie Stack and Brandon Russell followed by a candlelight ceremony.

Kickapoo’s choir sang in commemoration and the boys’ favorite songs were played. Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” concluded the evening’s ceremony. Although winds were biting and frigid, over 400 people attended to remember.

Many at the memorial honored the boys by wearing custom-made shirts. Senior Alex Cortez created T-shirts for the student body as a way of remembering her lost friends.

“It was something I really wanted to do for all of them,” Cortez said. “It was really moving for me to see the effect it had on the families.”

Candles weren’t the only reminder of the four boys. At the scene of the crash, a scarred tree remains. Messages from family and friends to the four were etched into the trunk, reminding them that they have not been forgotten.

Even after the ceremonies were completed and notes were scrawled in the wood, letting go has been hard for many.

“I never realize that I won’t see him again,” Robinson’s best friend, senior Mitchell Cotter, said. “It feels like it’s just — not real.”

Provided students take the initiative, another tragic accident can be prevented in the future, said Daniel Bracker, a sergeant with the Missouri Highway Patrol.

“Teenagers...need to learn,” Bracker said. “Bad decisions have consequences. Sometimes deadly consequences.”

With four bright futures cut short, those still here look for ways to change themselves so that they can carry a legacy that should not be forgotten.

“Honor them by doing the right thing behind the wheel,” Bracker said. “That’s how we can...make a difference.”

Candles, music, words and a tree. Gifts given to the memory of the four that some knew and all of us lost.