A Mineola High School senior who died of injuries suffered in a car crash was remembered by family and classmates as a standout athlete, student and friend as he was laid to rest on Thursday.

Christian Melendez died on Christmas Eve, three days after the crash on Willis Avenue. The driver and another passenger survived.

One by one, the varsity soccer players said their final farewells to their co-captain who wore the No. 10 jersey. Thursday would have been his 19th birthday.

Melendez's family came to the high school for an emotional start to the procession taking Melendez from his school to his final resting place.

"To all of you...live like a champion," his father Jose said in a heartfelt message to the classmates.

Hundreds of students lined the street in front of the high school, many of them sobbing quietly and consoling each other however they could. It was a draining day for them that began early Thursday morning with a ceremony at sunrise.

After the burial, varsity players and alumni returned to the soccer field that Melendez considered a second home to play a game in his memory.

The high school is now selling shirts with Melendez's number and the phrase, "Live like a champion." The money will be used to fund a scholarship in his name.