BILLINGS — It's been nearly three years since Laurel 19-year-old Alexus 'Lexy' Pyle was killed in the passenger seatduring a two car crash in Billings. Alcohol was a factor for the two drivers and they'll appear in court Wednesday for sentencing. One new car club is showing their support for Lexy, her family, and the Love for Lexy Foundation with a car show in the Heights.
“She loved people. She loved animals. She just was a bright light,” said Pyle's aunt, Jennifer Sayler Sunday.
Stickers of sunflowers covered the dozens of cars gathered in the parking lot of All American Pharmaceuticals in the Heights.
“We just want people, whenever they see a sunflower, to think of Lexy,” Sayler added.
Even after her death, Pyle is still impacting the community. Billings car club Team Sokudo Nation dedicated Sunday's car show to her.
“We just wanted to bring the community together to show our love and support for her family and keep her legacy alive,” said Rocky Stone, president of Team Sokudo Nation's Montana chapter.
TheLove for Lexy Foundation caught Stone's eye when he was perusing social media.
“The Love for Lexy Foundation, they give scholarships to less fortunate people that are trying to go to nursing school,” Stone said.
Proceeds from Sunday's car show will go entirely to the foundation. Hundreds of car enthusiasts showed up from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. to enjoy music, food trucks, and each others company.
Other car clubs, like 406 Syndicate, showed up to support.
“It feels good to come out and support what’s actually going on in our community. 'Cuz it’s not about the car groups, it’s about the community and being supportive,” said Brian Taylor, head of 406 Syndicate.
“We’re all here for each other and it is a good thing that we see everyone pulling in. It’s always a good feeling to see how many people show up,” said Team Sokudo Nation member, Sarah Rhinehart.
Stone and Team Sokudo Nation plan on donating the proceeds from the car show's various raffles to Love for Lexy. Stone also hoped to send a message to the public when it comes to drinking and driving.
“One of the bills that we would like to try to propose is that there’s testing done on site of when there’s an accident or situations where alcohol is involved. Is that, the blood alcohol level be tested at the scene,” Stone said.
It's a community effort to prevent the same situation that happened to Pyle and her family from ever happening again.
“Nobody’s going to come out winning on Wednesday for sure. It’s so painful for everybody involved. So when the community comes together to do great things for other people, it just shows just the love and the support that we’re all, again, just so appreciative of,” said Sayler.
