Curtis Hackett used to fill the stands at Glenvar High School as a full back for the Highlanders.
In death he still knows how to draw a crowd.
Roanoke County police tell us the 21-year-old died Saturday night after crashing his motorcycle into a utility pole in Salem.
“I didn't realize when he was alive how much everyone loved him. I knew everyone knew him, but not how much they loved him,” explained Christen Sanford, Curtis’ girlfriend.
Wednesday night family, friends, teammates and classmates came out to tell one funny story after another.
Cherie Briggs remembered the time they were getting ready for prom.
“I'm all dazzled up from head to toe and he said, ‘Ree I think I might look better than you’,” Briggs said.
Curtis' mother, Shirley, was the first to speak.
She never thought the day would come when she'd have to burry a child, but she hopes his story will be a lesson for other young drivers to slow down.
“My son has been driving for years, so something went wrong that night, I don't know, but I do know that he was a very smart young man,” said his mom, Shirley Hunter.
It was easy to tell he touched many lives.
For more than an hour people reminisced and they could have kept going all night.
At one point Curtis received a standing ovation.
Before everyone left they released green and gold balloons not in mourning, but in celebration.
Curtis' family will receive visitors at 11 a.m. this Saturday, October 31 at Shiloh Baptist Church in Salem.
His funeral will follow right after at noon.
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