By Mike Rush
Kirkwood, MO (KSDK) - It's a walk these kids never thought they'd take, placing flowers near the spot where their friend was killed.
"It's just unreal to me. I don't see how it could actually happen," said Seth Roethemeyer, Cam's friend.
Another friend, Austin Tate, added, "It's the first real close friend I've ever had die."
Cameron Vennard, the laid back kid who made friends easily, played the guitar and loved music, just graduated from Nipher Middle School with these friends, preparing to start at Kirkwood High School.
But before that, summertime, and Wednesday evening his friends say Cameron was on his way to meet them downtown.
They say he would often walk the tracks as a shortcut from his house, something a few have done.
"I've walked the tracks before downtown Kirkwood because it was the shortest route," said Roethemeyer.
Police say Cameron did not appear to hear the Amtrak train coming up behind him because he had his earbuds in.
The teenagers say they came here to, in a way, make sense of the senseless.
Ironically, an Amtrak that passed while they were there seemed clear at least some of their confusion.
Roethemeyer said, "It just shows me how it could happen to him because the train was just so quiet."
But that understanding still doesn't lessen the loss.
"He had a lot to contribute to the world and it's sad he couldn't," said Tate.
KSDK