Vigil Held For Boy Killed In Front Yard By Truck

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Friends and loved ones of two little boys run down by a suspected drunk driver gathered on the front steps of a New Castle home where the crash happened for a candlelight vigil Tuesday night.

One of the boys survived, the other was killed.

Nearly 100 people spent more than an hour singing songs and offering prayers for 7-year-old Octavius Stone.

He and his friend, 9-year-old "Ozzy" Velez, were playing in the front yard of a home on Winslow Avenue when the pickup truck hit them.

Virgil Coonfare has been charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence.

Stone's mother, Chanet Jones, told KDKA's Kym Gable, "He was only 7-years-old and he was full of life. He had the whole world ahead of him. He could be whatever he wanted to be."

Velez tried to push his friend out of the way.

He suffered leg injuries and was released from the hospital Monday night.

He, too, attended the vigil, but his family said he was not ready to talk to the media.

Kris Stone said about his son, "My love. He was so great and special and everybody that knows him loved him. I know how special he was and I hope everybody else knows how special he was."

The Octavius Stone Memorial Fund has been set up at all PNC branches and PNC.com to help the family with funeral costs.

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