ROGERS (KFSM)- A 17-year-old Rogers Heritage High School student died Friday after the SUV he was riding in slid on ice and went into the water at Lake Atlanta. That night (Feb. 20), school students and faculty had a moment of silence for the boy at the Fayetteville-Rogers basketball game.
Kelsey Young is a freshman at Heritage, and said she was close to the teen.
"In any situation he would always have a positive outlook on it, I mean he was a great friend, a great brother, everything, I mean he was just a great person to have in general, a great person to know," Young said.
She said she remembers the last time she spoke to the boy, less than 24 hours before the accident.
"We were walking down the hallway, all of us walking down the hallway talking and then we walked out the doors, and just all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways," Young said.
Anndi Jo Awbrey is a junior at Heritage, and has two classes with the victim. She said the teen was her best friend.
"I had to have my mom come get me from school, because it was like really sudden, you wouldn't think it would happen, I mean of course it happens but you don't think it would happen to somebody you know," Awbrey said.
Awbrey said the teen shared dreams with her about coming a professional BMX racer. She said he would always ask her for her change, because he was saving up for a new bike.
"He's up there and he's gonna be happy, and he doesn't want everybody to be sad, he's just one of those people that he wouldn't think this many people would be that upset over it, he's one of those people that would be like 'its not that big of a deal, its just me," Awbrey said.
Both Young and Awbrey said they helped organize "Tie Dye Monday" in honor of their friend. The girls said the teen was known for wearing tie-dyed t-shirts nearly every day. They ask all Heritage students to participate on Feb. 23.
Police have not yet released the name of the victim.