REIDSVILLE, N.C. — Just one week after 11-year-old Keontae Hilderbrand was killed in a car crash , his friends, classmates and family gathered at Reidsville Middle School to remember him.

Sharing tears, hugs and memories, the crowd released black and purple balloons — his favorite colors — into the sky as a tribute.

“No 11-year-old child deserves this. No grandmothers should be burying their grandchildren,” said Shayla Millner, his grandmother.

Hilderbrand had only been a middle schooler for a few months when he died in a crash in Henry County, Virginia.

“He was a great little kid,” said Principal Casey Elrod.

Elrod said Hilderbrand stood out for his kindness. “Every day, as soon as he came in the building, he would pass me in the mornings and just always with a quick ‘good morning,

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