If crash victim Chris Swider could see all the people mourning his death this week, friends of the Thomas R. Proctor High School senior know he'd be telling everyone to stop crying and to cheer up.

"Chris lived everyday like it was his last," 17-year-old David Betti said Wednesday, one day after Swider succumbed to his injuries from Saturday's car accident. "It was a free-for-all, and that's how he lived his life."

With the prickly head of hair Swider spent so much time spiking with gel, he personified the kind of swagger that earned him the nickname "Baby Swagg," his friends said.

"There was not an 'off' button on that kid," said Laura Conley, 17, a junior at Sauquoit Valley Senior High School. "He was loved by everyone," she said.

As friends recalled the mischievous antics only Swider could pull off with charisma, a memorial of cards, posters and candles still surround the tree along Albany Street in East Utica that Swider drove into with four other teens in the vehicle at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

Front-seat passenger Stephanie Hawkins, 17, still remains in serious condition at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica.

The other passengers included:

ä Justin Kotary, 19, of Rome, suffered a shoulder and hip injury.

ä Michelle Behlin, 18, of Rome, suffered injuries to her left leg and right foot.

ä Shane Pratt, 18, of Holland Patent, was not injured.

Police probe continues

Utica police continue to investigate what role alcohol and speed might have played in the deadly crash.

One of the passengers previously told police they had just left the Tropical Delight nightclub on Bleecker Street in East Utica, and a recent review of the club's surveillance video shows Swider's vehicle was in the parking lot, police said.

Other surveillance images, however, show that none of the underage youths ever were inside the establishment, Sgt. Edward Noonan said.

It still remains unclear whether any of the teens got out of the vehicle while it was in the parking lot, and blood tests currently are under way to see if Swider was under the influence of any alcohol or drugs that night, Noonan said.

Because Tropical Delight recently has come under fire following fights that occurred there involving underage teens, Noonan emphasized how cooperative owner Jose Paulino has been in helping police investigate this accident.

Police called to memorial site

Utica police were called to the accident scene at Albany Street near South Park Drive at about 10 a.m. Wednesday after neighbors complained that a large number of youths who had gathered there had become a nuisance, Chief Mark Williams said.

After one neighbor put up yellow tape to block off a portion of their yard, someone tore the tape down and broke the resident's window, Williams said. Cars parked along both sides of the road also created traffic problems, he said.

As a result, police had no choice but to ask the crowd to disperse, Williams said.

"Unfortunately for the actions of a few, now everybody is told to leave," Williams said. "The reality of the situation is that people don't have the authority to be there if the property owners don't want them there."

'He brought everyone together'

Swider's friends said they don't want any mistakes Swider might have made that night to overshadow how special he was to so many people.

Among those friends was 18-year-old Mirela Mesic, who was preparing to graduate with Swider from Proctor in June.

"He literally brought an entire graduating class together, from ninth through 12th grade," Mesic said. "He brought everyone together because he had that many friends, and he was just the nicest kid you could ever meet."

Swider loved to eat Bosnian food, Mesic said, and he sometimes joined Mesic's family for dinner. At one point he joked about asking Mesic's parents if he could marry her just so he could eat Bosnian food all the time, she said.

Swider also never hesitated to stir up a moment of silliness, such as when he wore one of Mesic's fluffy clown-like gloves in class while it was cold.

At first thinking that Mesic's gloves were a furry animal in her purse, Swider took to calling Mesic's glove "Rosie."

And just last Thursday, Swider ran up to Betti with exciting news that he had registered to attend classes at Herkimer County Community College.

"Look! H Triple! I'm going to college!" Swider shouted as he held out his new college photo ID card to show Betti.

Now, the memories of Swider's spiked hair, his love for SpongeBob SquarePants and his akita-shepherd dog named Tank, and the gold chain he always wore around his neck serve as reminders of what's been lost.

"I think it was a wake-up call to everybody - don't take life for granted," Conley said.