Friends and family will had a candlelight vigil Saturday night to remember three teenage girls who were killed when they drove a stolen car into a pond.

Laniya Miller and Ashaunti Butler, both 15, and Dominique Battle, 16, died Thursday morning when the stolen car they were in plunged into a cemetery pond in St. Petersburg.

Now those who knew the girls are mourning their deaths.

“They weren’t perfect, but nobody deserves to die like that,” said Jacer Brown, who was dating 15-year-old Laniya Miller. “She was playful. She could make me laugh."

The three girls allegedly stole the car in Child’s Park Wednesday night, and Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies came upon them early the next day and followed them.

The girls drove the car into a cemetery off Gandy Boulevard and straight into a pond. Deputies said they waded into the water to try to save them, but heavy vegetation and mud prevented it.

“I know she made mistakes, but that’s not who she was.” said Zenia Hegdeman, who grew up with Butler. “She wanted to change. She went to church with me."

Hegdeman said she wonders what she could have done to help prevent this.

“I have to stop beating myself up, but I just think that if I had called her more, this wouldn’t have happened," she said.

The candlelight vigil for the girls is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Campbell Park in St. Petersburg. Everyone is welcome to attend.