On Sunday, the Brevard County Bluewives put together a candlelight vigil in honor of Deputy Kevin Stanton, who died in a crash.

Jessica Rundell has known Deputy Kevin Stanton since high school.

“Everybody loved him,” she told Spectrum News 13.

When she first heard that his patrol car was crushed by a semi tractor-trailer on I-95 in Titusville, she couldn’t believe her ears.

“It was awful,” she detailed.

Rundell, like many others, attended a candlelight vigil to honor his memory. Uniformed men and women from multiple agencies also paid their respects.

“For whatever reason, we work very well together, and we’re very close-knit,” said Titusville Police Department, Deputy Chief Todd Hutchinson. “This is the loss of a family member for all of us. So we’re all here to help us help each other process and start the healing process.”

Folks wiped away tears and shared stories of better times. Stanton was on his way to train the agency’s newest officers when he was killed.

“Being a training officer that in itself gives him a great respect from other officers,” said Debby Livingston, a board member for the Brevard County Bluewives. “And losing a great training office is always hard on the community but even harder on the officers that he shares that time with.”

One colleague Spectrum News 13 spoke to said that for her, all the candlelights represented how Deputy Stanton could lighten up anyone’s day with his smile.

Rundell said she will always remember Stanton as a loving and good friend who was full of life.

“Anytime you needed a friend you could call him and that was from High school all the way to adulthood,” Rundell added. “Any time you needed anything you could ask him and he was there.”