Family and friends of the three Las Vegas teens who were killed in a car crash in Southern California Thursday morning gather for a vigil at Knickerbocker park Friday, March 30, 2018.
Friday, March 30, 2018 | 11 p.m.
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Stories about a group of teens with promising futures were shared at an emotional Las Vegas vigil, but their dreams will never materialize because their lives were tragically cut short.
Centennial High School seniors Albert “AJ” Rossi, 17, Dylan Mack, 18, and junior Brooke Hawley, 17, were killed early Thursday morning in Huntington Beach, Calif., when an alleged drunk driver plowed into their vehicle as they were on spring break. Alexis Vargas, a fourth occupant of the group's vehicle, was also injured.
Hundreds of people including family, friends and fellow classmates filled Knickerbocker Park in the northwest valley Friday evening to remember the young trio.
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Hawley, whose family remained in California and did not attend the vigil, was remembered by friends as a fierce competitor on the soccer field who often befriended players from opposing teams.
“She knew who she was and she didn’t care what anybody had to say about her,” one of Hawley’s teammates said. “She was loved by so many people.”
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A typical teenager, A.J. was known for his heart, athleticism and his smile, winning the senior-class, best-smile honor at Centennial High. At home, he cleaned the floors once a week, took the trash out, helping his father, Albert Rossi, a permanently disabled veteran, any way he could.
A.J. was raised by his father, Albert, and his sister, Allie Rossi, after his mother died when he was 7 years old.
“He was traumatically affected by (his mother’s death),” Albert Rossi said. “He cried two times a month.”
Three months ago, A.J. approached his dad with tears streaming down his face, lamenting how much he missed her, Albert said. He reassured his son that he was a strong kid and that his mom was watching over him.
“I really think he didn’t want to die,” he said. “But he missed his mother so much.”
Albert said he plans to make A.J.’s room a memorial for as long as he is in the home, which he is contemplating selling because of the family memories associated with it.
After talking A.J. out of joining the military after graduating high school, A.J. planned to attend college to pursue a career.
“He wanted to be a fireman,” Albert said. “He can’t be nothing now. … I never thought that I would outlive my son.”
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Dylan Mack was always known to be happy, with a perpetual smile beaming. An avid athlete, he loved hanging out with his friends playing basketball and being a good role model for younger children.
“He had a big heart,” said Morgan Mack, Dylan’s father. “I can’t say enough positive things about the young man.”
With the large turnout for the vigil, Mack said it was a testament to how his son lived his life.
“(The turnout) means the world to me. Vegas Strong, it’s true,” Mack said. “This is a community, it’s real to me.”
Known for keeping an untidy room, Dylan was a typical teenager in every sense of the word, his father said.
“His room is still a mess right now,” Mack said. “Just the way he liked it.”
With high school winding down, Dylan realized he needed to figure out his future. That’s when two weeks ago, he mentioned the word “career” to his father for the first time. He said he wanted to be a firefighter and his father suggested enlisting in the Air Force and working toward that goal.
“At first he rejected it, and it took a couple weeks, going out to a nice breakfast and he talked to me, he listened, saying this maybe is a real option to go from A to B,” Mack said. “We started to do that next phase because he saw the end of high school coming and he didn’t want to get stuck and be lost.”
Dylan’s best friend, Tyler McAdams, said he also pushed him toward goals after high school, trying to figure out a plan for pair to reconnect in the future, as McAdams is set to attend Arizona State University in the fall.
A few days before Dylan left for California, the two friends hung out for what would be their last time, setting up a tournament of the popular video game "Fortnite" at Tyler’s house with a few other friends. The marathon gaming session lasted hours.
“We played like 40 games before we got our win, then we all went to Snapchat, took a picture and we were all so excited about it,” McAdams said.
After their win, Dylan went straight to the cupboard and started to eat all the food in sight, something Dylan did quite often, McAdams said.
When he was leaving that night, Dylan asked McAdams to walk him to his car, which he thought was funny at the time, but it ended up being a meaningful moment.
“We always told each other we love you when we left after hanging out, but lately we hadn’t been doing it for some reason,” McAdams said. “That night he made me walk him to his car for some reason. I said, ‘No, come on man you’re grown.’ But he looked back and said, ‘Come on,’ so I did. I walked him there, said “I love you, bro,’ and that was the last time that I saw him.”
The two had planned to reconnect Friday night after Dylan returned from California.
“We were supposed to hang out tonight actually,” McAdams recalled. “But I didn’t think it would be like this. I’m going to miss him — that was my brother.”
