Tonganoxie ? Chieftain Park was aglow with more than 200 candles at dusk Saturday to celebrate the lives of two 21-year-old Tonganoxie men.

“Two of the best friends I’ve ever had. I love you guys,” Josh Hunter, 21, shouted out while gripping a lighted candle in each hand.

Friends and family members of Ben Pickert and Jacob Wyrick leaned on each other during their grief and shock one day after the men died in a car accident in Lawrence.

“Without my family and without my friends and without the support of the community, I really don’t know what I would do,” said Jacque Egnatic, Pickert’s mother.

Several of the pair’s classmates from Tonganoxie High School’s class of 2003 organized the vigil as a way to show support to the two families.

“We didn’t want each other to sit around and mourn and cry,” said Shann Trieb, 21, a close friend of both.

The families have accepted an outpouring of support since the accident early Friday. Wyrick’s parents, Scott and Jannette Bouldin, visited with friends and family members Saturday afternoon at their home.

Time for reflection

The days also allowed for reflection on the two young men, who friends and family members say were always looking to have fun and who kept their friends close.

Two friends embrace at a candlelight vigil in Tonganoxie held in remembrance of Jacob Wyrick and Benjamin Pickert. The two men died in a car accident early Friday near 21st and Iowa streets in Lawrence.

“Whatever you could do, Jake could do it better,” Trieb said.

Hunter called Wyrick a perfectionist, especially while working for Dripbusters Guttering in Tonganoxie. Wyrick also was somewhat of a prankster with a hint of sarcasm in him, he said.

“If Jacob was sarcastic to you, that meant Jacob would do everything and anything for you,” said Wyrick’s cousin, Ray Ward.

Hunter, Trieb and other close friends plan to wear pink to Wyrick’s funeral at 11 a.m. Monday at the Tonganoxie Christian Church.

“He said he was the only one who could pull off pink. He was so sure of it,” Hunter said.

A memorial Mass for Pickert will be 4 p.m. Tuesday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tonganoxie.

Pickert and Wyrick both enjoyed working on their cars with friends and showing them off. Before Saturday’s vigil, many waited several minutes in line to sign a wheel from Wyrick’s Ford Mustang and Pickert’s Honda.

When the two were together, they would often let out “big ol’ laughs” and flash “big ol’ grins,” said Pickert’s cousin, Diane Thompson.

Egnatic said her son frequently was energetic.

“From the time he was born, he would go and go and go. Then the house would be quiet. We couldn’t find Ben, and it would be because he would be falling over asleep,” she said.

Pickert spent time with his friends, and he was close with Hunter and his girlfriend, Toni Kim.

His grandparents in June sent the family, Pickert and Hunter on a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate each of them turning 21 this year.

“That was just the best thing that could have actually happened before this, because it was such a wonderful time,” Thompson said.

Friends, family and supporters gather at Chieftain Park in Tonganoxie for a candlelight vigil to mourn the loss of Jacob Wyrick and Benjamin Pickert. The two men died in a car wreck early Friday morning in Lawrence.

Pickert planned to attend Kansas University in the fall and pursue a business degree like his older brother, Justin, who now lives in Chesterfield, Mo.

Report on accident

Details are still sketchy as to what exactly caused the accident shortly before 2 a.m. Friday near 21st and Iowa streets in Lawrence. Lawrence Police have said Wyrick was driving his Mustang south during heavy rain.

A semitruck driver, who was headed north, told police he stopped when he saw the Mustang spinning out of control. The car then eventually struck the truck.

Police spokeswoman Kim Murphree on Friday said officers would investigate speed, weather conditions and alcohol as a possible cause, but nothing was yet determined. A final report will likely be released Tuesday, she said.

Hunter said Pickert and Wyrick that night had made plans to go to Cadillac Ranch, 2515 W. Sixth St., a frequent hangout.

Egnatic said her family still knew little about details of the accident. She also spoke about supporting Wyrick’s family. Later, she embraced Bouldin at the vigil.

“They are holding in a lot of the guilt that it was Jake that was driving, and I don’t feel any resentment at all,” Egnatic said.

“It’s unimportant what happened. It was an accident and a wreck. It’s done,” Thompson said.

The two sudden deaths have left the community shaken.

“You lose two at once – it’s devastating,” Hunter said.