On Saturday night, hundreds of people from the New York City community gathered at Union Square West to commemorate the life of 20-year-old CAS sophomore Kyle Larson.

The memorial, hosted by New York City resident John Rios in association with the New York Long Board Association, was an opportunity for family, friends and strangers alike to remember Larson and the importance of skateboard safety. Larson’s parents were present at the memorial.

According to the New York Police Department, Larson was riding his skateboard along Union Square West when he reportedly lost control and was struck by a 2004 Mitsubishi Delivery Truck. The police department responded to a call at 11:15 a.m. and arrived at 37 Union Square West. The operator of the truck remained at the scene while Larson was brought to Beth Israel Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

While police say investigations into the cause of the accident are ongoing, eyewitnesses have reported that a passing cyclist caused Larson to lose control of his skateboard.

Members and friends of the NYU community grieved with the Larson family.

“The New York University community was saddened to learn of the death of Kyle Larson, an undergraduate student at the College of Arts and Science,” director of Public Affairs Philip Lentz said. “We extend our condolences to his family.”

CAS senior and fellow commuter Anton Alicante remembers Larson as a talented student who loved his board.

“From our conversations, he truly enjoyed riding and wouldn’t even let the poor weather deter him from riding back to Penn Station,” Alicante said. “I can’t tell for sure how I will feel when I return to our class this week. It’s still hard to even think of this as reality. As much as NYU is such a large school, he will most definitely be missed.”

CAS junior George Georgiadis attended Manhasset High School with Larson, where they shared the same group of friends.

“I have difficulty eulogizing him because simply using superlatives to describe Kyle does not truly capture him,” Georgiadis said. “Simply put, another promising young man’s life [is] cut short by tragedy.”

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Nov. 26 print edition. Julie DeVito is senior editor. Kayana Jean-Philippe is deputy city/state editor. Email them at [email protected].