It isn't water polo or wrestling, or even his time in the band that friends will remember about 17-year-old Okemos student Adam Nevells. They say it's who he was that truly defined him.

"He was always giving it his all, more than everyone else and pushing everyone," Nevells' childhood friend Sam Marsh said. "If you needed help, he was the first person to help you."

"He had the greatest work ethic and always put in 110 percent," Water Polo teammate Greg Kohler said.

Nevells' water polo teammates gathered Friday outside of his house to make signs and remember their friend.

"We're a family, we're a close team," Jacob Leski said. "It's like a brother died, we're just trying to help his parents. We're making signs to show support for him and that we're always here for him."

Late Thursday night, the high school senior was returning to school to pick up his car after getting something to eat with friends after the football game. When he pulled onto Jolly road, he was hit by a truck and he died early Friday morning.

"We went to the hospital and we were there with him until 5:30 in the morning when he passed away," Marsh said.

Superintendent Cheryl Kreger said the Okemos community is taking this loss especially hard.

"Adam was a well-connected, well-liked student," Kreger said. "The community and the neighborhood and the school has responded."

Dozens gathered at the high school Friday, some created a Facebook page in Adam's honor, and his closest friends made a make-shift memorial on his front lawn -- complete with things he liked the most.

"We're just trying to remember him and make him proud," Marsh said.

Hundreds gathered in Adam's neighborhood, including the high school band for a candlelight vigil Friday evening.

Police tell us alcohol was not a factor in the accident.

Counselors will be at the school Tuesday to talk with students. They're taking suggestions on what kind of memorial to have.