Community comes together to honor Nikki Rowe students

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — It was an emotional night at Nikki Rowe High School as friends and family of Adan De La Cruz gathered to remember their loved one.

De La Cruz died earlier this week just days after he fell off the roof at a house party. It was an emotional celebration on the very same field that he played in.

Hundreds of people showed up to the event to honor the friends and family of the football star.

Some students who organized the event such as Gabriela Tamez had nothing but kind words about De La Cruz.

“He is a joy," Tamez said. "He is a defender, protector, and I will carry Adan’s protection with me at all times. All of us have already started seeing signs and showing that he is still with us.”

Tamez said she had known him since the fifth grade and knew him as a generous person. She added he always had his family on his mind, especially, his cousins who were also his classmates.

Samantha Torres says Adan always put those he loved before him and says she spoke to Adan just minutes before the unthinkable happened.

“Like two minutes before he told me to take care of his girlfriend and make she gets home safe and to just take care of her, and I told him I would do that, and I would take her home right and then he walked away after," Torres said.

De La Cruz’s girlfriend, Edith, also spoke briefly at the vigil. She spoke about the time she got to spend with him and how she would like his memory to be honored.

“I know there is many things that he wished that we would have gotten through with him, but he will through us," the girlfriend said. "I ask that we go to every dance, every pep rally, every game and you guys better win the game.”

Adan’s siblings and father also spoke at the event.

Kevin Gonzalez was a Nikki Rowe High School football player and passed away earlier this summer in an accident. He was also honored at the event and the school helped his family by holding a fundraiser earlier this summer.

“We need to remain united as a community for Kevin and Adan and just to be respectful to the family and friends and our school and everyone who was involved," said Gabriel Mora, who is the secretary of the student body and helped organized the event.