TULSA, Okla. — Booker T. Washington High School freshman basketball star Donald Laster was one of the eight people killed in a head-on collision over the weekend.
He and others were making their way back to Tulsa from a basketball tournament in Kansas, but never made it back.
WATCH: Friends remember DJ Laster:
"A piece of us is missing," said Mikenna Travis, one of Donald's friends. "When I first heard, I was kind of in denial. I didn’t think it was true.”
A mass of Laster's friends, who said they're more like family, came together to speak with 2 News. They said they felt it was right to share Laster with the world, considering the impact he had on them.
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“He always made everyone smile, even though he was going through a lot himself; he was always making sure he checked up on people," said Travis. "Every time I had my head down, he would come and talk to me, ask me if I was okay, ask me how I was doing. I know he did that to a lot of people as well and checked up on a lot of people and made a lot of people feel loved.”
The group said it's hard to believe their new reality, that one of their own isn't coming home.
Known to those closest to him as DJ or Dougie, Travis wants to make sure Laster is remembered for his heart of gold.
“Donald was a kind, soft-hearted person," she said. "He was very God fearing. He loved his little sister; that was his motivation. She kept him going.”
His friends say Laster had big dreams of taking his skills on the court to the pros. Now they are making it their mission to carry on his name and number through their own game.
“He meant a lot to me," said Dontayne Tiger. "I always loved to compete with him. He was always there, ready to pick anybody up, no matter what happened, no matter if there was an argument, a disagreement. He would always have your back no matter what.”
Tiger shared the court with Laster starting in the sixth grade. Now, moving forward, he said, every game he plays will be in Laster's honor.
"I'm going to continue to honor him, play my hardest no matter what the game is, no matter what the score is," he said. "I’m going to continue to push and fight just how he would have wanted.”
Something his friends continued to come back to was Laster's compassionate nature for those he loved.
“He played a key role in everybody’s life," said Tiger. "He has affected everybody in some type of way.”
The makeup of their group, forever altered.
Laster's loss is felt in everything they do, but his friends create reminders of him everywhere they go. They've started with a mural at school and even saved him a seat at the lunch table.
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