By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer
Monday, January 24, 2011
TRINITY — Just a few steps from the crash scene, in the sprawling worship center of Generations Christian Church, students crowded the aisles leading to the white casket.
Cierra Mamonoff, 15, lay between a dozen large bouquets of roses at the head of the sanctuary. Wednesday morning, while walking with her friends, she had been hit and killed trying to cross the four lanes of Little Road. Lead pastor Greg Johnson was just pulling into church that morning when he saw her on the ground, clinging to life.
Johnson stood Monday afternoon before 1,000 people — Cierra's friends and family members packed into pews and standing along the walls. Most were students, out of class from a mile up the road at J.W. Mitchell High School, where Cierra had been a sophomore.
"Every one of you is here because ...