Outside of S.S. Conner Elementary School Saturday, friends and family gathered for a bubble release in memory of 8-year-old Kaden Rainwater.
"Where do we go from here? How do we find peace in such a tragedy?" said Principal Kiashan King.
Rainwater was riding his scooter in his east Dallas apartment complex’s parking lot Monday night when police say a suspected drunk driver hit and killed him.
That driver had three previous DWI convictions.
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But Saturday, rather than focus on his death, loved ones reflected on Kaden’s time on Earth.
"We're not here to say goodbye. We're just here to say see you later,” said Kaden’s grandmother Beverly Sosa.
Several children, young enough to normally be sheltered from tragedy, spoke of a friend lost far too soon. Kaden’s parents, Rodney and Dalana Rainwater, also took the podium. Bolstered by their other sons, the Rainwaters told those gathered that their little boy will be remembered most for his big heart.
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"He had one message, to love everybody, to forgive,” said Dalana Rainwater.
"I was told last night that it got spread down to Athens. I was told a couple of days ago that it got spread out to California. I was told the night that it happened that it got spread out to Indiana. So his love got spread all over the place,” said Rodney Rainwater.
Rainwater challenged those missing his son to do the same.
