FAMILY and friends gathered in silence to remember four young men killed in one of Oxford’s most tragic car crashes.

Three 13-year-old boys – Marshall Haynes, Liam Hastings and Josh Bartlett – and 21-year-old student Howard Hillsdon died following the horrific crash on Oxford’s Eastern Bypass in 2005.

About 80 people gathered at the roadside on Friday evening to leave flowers and tributes.

Teenager Sarah Jones, 18, of Iffley Road, Oxford was a friend of the boys.

She said: “It’s hard. It’s not the same without them. It ripped the community apart.

“Everyone is still completely shocked by it.

“This event brings us all together so we can celebrate the lives of the boys.”

Friend Joanne Devine, 18, from Cowley, added: “It’s hard because we are all 18 now and going to college and university and so they should be too.”

Josh Bartlett’s mother, Jane Barber, thanked everyone for their messages of support.

She said: “I want to say thank you to all the boys’ friends for turning up. God bless all of them.”