Billings Cars and Coffee Auto enthusiasts gather in the Kohl parking lot on King Avenue West for a memorial cruise on Sunday morning.
Students watch balloons drift away during the Billings Cars and Coffee cruise for West High School victims on Sunday.
A memorial cruise for three Billings West High students killed in a car accident in February started with a rumble of engines and ended quietly when dozens of people released balloons and saw them soaring over the West High soccer field.
The cruise was organized by Billings Cars and Coffee, a local group of car enthusiasts who usually meet near a coffee shop on weekends.
Eddie Tolliver, who helped organize the event, said the estimated turnout was about 300 people and about 200 vehicles. The event began at around 10 a.m. with a meeting in the Kohl parking lot across from City Brew on Shiloh and King Avenue West.
Billings Cars and Coffee is hosting a memorial cruise for the West High School accident victims on Shiloh Road on Sunday.
LARRY MAYER, Billings Gazette
Tolliver said four motorcycle clubs and another local car group, Auto Culture of Big Sky, all showed their support for the West High Teens families Tommy Lindsay, Conner Devere and Kylie Larsen.
Also in attendance, and surrounded by family, was Zac Malcolm, another West High student who was in the car with the other teenagers when it crashed.
Among the black and gold balloons in the colors of West High were several orange and black balloons for Billings Senior, which 17-year-old Christine Croft went to school in before she died in a car accident in early February.
“We had a lot of people from the community joining that. Since they can be a support network for these families, they’ve all lost their children. I think it’s pretty cool to see everyone get together and help out,” said Tolliver. “
