Students at Oasis School laughed at the memories and cried over the loss of two of their classmates, Jose and Jesus Felix Casarez.

The brothers, 7 and 8 years old, were killed in a car crash last month several blocks from the school.

Officials say was the collision was caused by a drunken driver. Andres Zepeda Luna, 33, pleaded not guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter and DUI charges and is due in court in December.

The boys' mother, Oralia Casarez, 28, and 10-month-old sister, Guadalupe Casarez, also died in the crash.

“He was a star,” special education teacher Javier Loya said about Jose, the smiling, friendly second-grader he had taught since kindergarten.

“His presence lit up the room,” Loya told the cafeteria filled with friends and classmates.

The children's father — who was also in the car at the time of the crash — and grandparents sat in the back wearing all black.

Several children stood up to talk about their memories — how Jesus used to share his cookies and how Jose always tried to make his friends happy.

“It's to give them closure,” said third-grade teacher Carmina Campos, of Jesus' teachers who organized the event that ended with students singing and releasing white balloons into the sky.

And though many children left school on Friday crying and holding each other and their teachers, they believed that their friends were not gone.

“I look up at the sky and I know you are watching us,” one girl said during the memorial. “You are our little angel.”