ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A vigil for a lost friend got heated Monday night.
“We're just here supporting our friend who lost his life…and it's just upsetting,” says says Edwine Jean-Louis, who attended the vigil.
More than 100 people gathered near Royal Palm Beach High School to remember Bryan Valentin Monday night.
Investigators said he was speeding early Monday morning when he lost control and crashed into a tree near Okeechobee Boulevard and Wildcat Way.
As police attempted to move the crowd out of the median and onto the sidewalk, things got heated and deputies were hit with water bottles.
“They said leave twice...that's your final warning,” Edwine says. “And that's when everything started going all crazy.”
PBSO said after multiple warnings deputies used pepper spray to disperse the crowd, resulting in one arrest.
It was an ugly end for a vigil that started as a peaceful remembrance for a friend.
“I don't think I've ever seen this kid down,” says Angel Santiago. “And if he was I was there for him. So, at the end of the day he never left with a frown.”
Santiago said he and Valentin were into the racing scene, although it's not clear if Valentin was racing when he crashed.
He says his friend was in the process of modifying his car, removing the airbags and the seat belt. Friends said he was adding a racing seatbelt and steering wheel
“Don't get me wrong, we all race,” Santiago says. “But it's to an extent. He took his racing too far.”
Angel says the tragedy brings perspective.
“This is my stopping point for racing,” he says. “Unfortunately fast is not the way to go.”
