Holly Springs teen's legacy growing days after his death

Scout Undercoffer, 14, was walking across the northbound lanes of N.C. Highway 55 on Wednesday evening when he was struck and killed by an SUV.

A makeshift memorial has grown where Scout, an eighth-grader at Holly Grove Middle School, was killed, but hundreds of people at a vigil in his honor at Parrish Womble Park in Holly Springs chose to celebrate his life instead.

"He wanted everyone to know it’s OK to be yourself, and it sounded like he tried to reach out and he couldn’t do it on his own," said Imani Santiago, who attended the vigil. "He definitely was showing others the way he wanted to be treated. He definitely cared for a lot of people that were by themselves and had nobody to love, and he showed that he could be that person."

Scout struggled with transitioning to a boy.

Santiago said she sympathizes with what the teen was going through.

"This kind of felt good to be connected to someone who isn’t here, is still impacting people and giving them hope through challenges," Hitesman said.

Scout's funeral is scheduled for Sunday at Apex Funeral Home.