ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Family and friends gathered Friday night to remember 16-year-old Pablo Alvarez. The teen was killed in West Seneca when he was hit by a pickup truck driven by an off-duty Cheektowaga police officer.
The accident happened around 9:30 p.m. on Clinton Street near Maplewood Avenue in West Seneca. His mother said he was coming home after walking his girlfriend to her house.
WATCH: 'He had a really big heart': Family remembers teen who was struck and killed in West Seneca
The State Attorney General's Office is investigating, but no charges are expected.
A GoFundMe has also been started to help Pablo’s family, which you can find here. It has raised more than $15,000 in the past week.
A wake took place in Orchard Park Friday night. 7 News reporter Derek Heid spent time alongside Pablo’s family and friends, giving the microphone over to the people who knew Pablo the best.
"His girlfriend texted us and was like, 'Pablo, he's gone,' and it just really hit deep. That's how we found out. No, I didn't believe it at first,” Pablo’s friend Zach Oatmeyer said. "He was a good kid. Like, his lingo was just like, 'what's up, fellas,' right? Like he would just say random stuff and it would just make people's day.”
"He used to come over [to my house]. I used to make him food. He used to come over just to charge his phone and like sit on my couch, right, but he was one of the funniest kids I ever met," another friend, Davon Miller, said.
"He was always fun to be around. You couldn't take your eye off of him for one second," his aunt Ronelda Guzman said. "The latest, best memories I have with him were recently. He came up to me, and he said, 'Auntie. I want you to teach me how to talk to Jesus.' ... I love Jesus, so for him to come up to me and ask me that. It was everything. It was everything, and I stay in peace knowing that he's resting in Jesus' arms right now.”
"He had the heart of gold, and that's why he would get the shirt off his back. He was a special kid. He was so close to my boys," Pablo’s Grandfather George Miller said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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