A day after a teenager drowns in a park, more than 100 of his friends gathered to remember him.
Davonte Macklin, a Hialeah Miami Lakes high school student, jumped of a Hialeah park bridge around 2 p.m. Thursday, just one day before his 18th birthday.
His friends cried as they remembered him and gathered near the bridge at McDonald Park in Hialeah.
"He was funny and nice," said classmate Helen Genao.
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"He was always making people laugh," said Melvin Madra.
But for Joe Perez, this day is especially difficult. He was with Macklin when he jumped off the bridge. He said he was the only one who went in to try to save him.
"He was too big and was pulling me down, so I had to get help," Perez said.
People brought pictures, candles, flowers, and Happy Birthday balloons.
Ofelia Sarfrance, a mother of one of the classmates, warned other teens about being safe.
"Do not do things when you can pay with your life as a result," said Sarfrance.
Even though there is a sign by the bridge warning people not to swim or jump off it, this is the second teen death from jumping off of the bridge in six months.
