The community paid respects Saturday afternoon to three Bellbrook High School students killed in a crash in the early morning on Sunday, Nov. 4.

Julianna Hawk, 14, Sophie Kerrigan, 17, and Skylar Kooken, 16, were killed after the pickup truck they were riding in crashed into a tree on Wagner Road.

On Saturday, the Bellbrook High School gym was half full minutes before a community memorial service for the three girls, according to a school district official. By 1:45 p.m., about 500 people had arrived at the school for the service.

“The community is here to support these kids and families,” said Keith St. Pierre, the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Schools superintendent. “I think that shows today.”

Groups of people lingered outside the gym looking at tributes and mementos erected to pay homage to the teens. Three walls were covered with photos of the girls and sympathy notes. Flowers were placed nearby.

“It’s pretty devastating to the community,” said Hanna Spears, a 17-year-old Bellbrook High School senior and childhood friend of Skylar Kooken. “A lot of the students are hurting. It’s hard to see their (the Hawk, Kerrigan and Kooken) friends hurting.”

In addition to the three girls killed, three other teens were injured in the crash. The driver, Jesse Ryan Whitaker, 17, and Zachery Morgan, 18, have been released from the hospital. Allison Magill, 17, was in good condition on Saturday afternoon, said a Kettering Medical Center spokeswoman.

Sugarcreek Twp. police are still trying to determine the cause of the crash, however investigators do not believe the crash is drug- or alcohol-related at this time.

As people walked into the memorial service, they received a handout with a list of grief resources compiled by the Vineyard Church in Beavercreek. The list included a description of the five stages of grief and contact information for grief support grounds in the region.

“It’s going to be different for these families and kids,” St. Pierre said. “They’re still coping with the loss of their daughters and friends.”