About 200 Aztec students and other community members gathered near the flag pole outside Aztec High School on Sunday night to remember the student who died weeks before the start of his senior year.

Andrew Pope, 18, was killed in an car accident in Farmington on Thursday.

Sheena Lemons, 19, was Pope's passenger and was critically injured in the crash. She made small progress Saturday anSunday in her recovery at University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, a family member said.

At 8 p.m. Sunday, Aztec students and community members wrote messages to Pope on balloons and released the balloons simultaneously.

The crowd made a circle and made public farewells to Pope, who was described as a friendly and caring classmate as well as a standout football player.

"This shows what type of person he is," said Ty Atencio, a 2012 Aztec High School graduate who was friends and teammates with Pope. Pope "touched everybody that's here in some way."

Pope's parents, cousins and other family members attended the vigil and made emotional statements to their son's friends.

"I knew he was popular but I had no idea how many people would help us through this hard time," Byron Pope, Pope's father, said.

Pope's family told the Aztec students at the vigil to use Pope's death as a reminder to live life to the fullest and as a reason to mend arguments with family members.