CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
The small town of Wilmington was still in shock Wednesday morning, just one day after four teenagers were found dead in a car that had plunged into a creek in the southwest suburbs.
Cheyenne Fender, 17, Micalah Sembach, 15, Matt Bailey, 14, and Cody Carter, 15, were in the black 2001 Mitsubishi that was found upside down in Forked Creek early Tuesday.
SEE: 4 teens killed in Will County creek crash identified
Mourners gathered for a vigil Tuesday night. Around 100 people attended the prayer service at First United Methodist.
Most of the people in the small population of about 5,700 knew or knew of these four young people, and remembered them with heavy hearts.
Wilmington Mayor Marty Orr implored the community to hold each other close.
"The city of Wilmington is a small knit community, we all know each other we all take care of each other and I'd like to ask this time," the mayor said, "the members of the community please rally around the families and support them in their time of great and tragic loss."
Many students at Wilmington High School wore black Wednesday in honor of their classmates.
School let out early Wednesday, but for the last 15 minutes, students gathered in the gymnasium, lit 4 candles, and observed a moment of silence for Cheyenne and the other three victims, Cody Carter, Matt Bailey and Micalah Sembach.
"I just pray for all the families and the people touched by this," local parent Deborah Meyer said. "There's four angels now in heaven that we just lost."
"What it really becomes for them, is that they understand that they are vulnerable and that they just lost four people that are not coming back and I think that's the scariest part for all of them," says school superintendent Jay Plese.
Fellow students and community members came to the scene throughout the day Wednesday to reflect and remember the friends they lost.
According to the Will County Sheriff's office, it could take months to figure out what went wrong in this case.
"It's surreal," Cheyenne Fender's grandmother Pam Copley says. "I don't think we understand, it hasn't hit us yet. If you're by yourself you just about want to scream and cry and die."
Mariah Davila, who grew up with Cheyenne said, "she's just a good girl and she's always had my back and she's always been there for my family and I think it's time for me to step up and be there for her family."
At the Island City Baptist Church, the community stepped up Wednesday, offering prayers for the families and friends.
Cheyenne's grandmother hopes police can figure out what caused the accident.
"There had to be something wrong or something on the road or something that happened, because she was a very good driver," says Copley.
The first of visitations will be Matt Bailey's on Thursday. His step-mother told FOX 32 News that she hopes other young people will learn from this tragedy, be careful when they are out driving, and always stay in touch with friends and family so people can find them quickly in an emergency.
Cheyenne Fender, 17 (top left); Micalah Sembach, 15 (top right); Matthew Bailey, 14 (bottom left); Cody Carter, 15 (bottom right).
Photo courtesy of FOX 32's Lisa Chavarria.
