VANCOUVER -- Along a stretch of road in Kelowna, B.C., a solemn scene.

Dozens and dozens of high school students gathered at the place where three of their friends lost their lives.

The students came to the makeshift memorial with flowers and balloons. They came with heavy hearts.

“This Grade 12 class was ready to celebrate and now they’re mourning the loss of three of their classmates," said Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran.

Shortly after midnight Wednesday, RCMP were called to a single vehicle crash. When they arrived, they found the mangled wreckage of a Honda Civic.

The crash killed the 18-year-old woman behind the wheel along with her two passengers, an 18-year-old man and 17-year-old woman.

“This is every parent’s worst nightmare, getting that call in the middle of the night," Basran told CTV News. "We have three families now living out this nightmare."

All three victims were in Grade 12 at Kelowna Secondary and were set to graduate next week.

“They were, I think, just wonderful kids from good families and it’s just a tragic accident,” Kevin Kaardal, the superintendent of schools for Central Okanagan said in an interview Wednesday.

Lyndon Sinclair, a classmate of the victims, was at the crash scene on Wednesday.

“I don’t even know how to feel right now. It doesn’t even feel real. I just feel numb. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” he said.

RCMP say the cause of the crash is still under investigation. The BC Coroner’s Service is also investigating.

Meanwhile, Kelowna’s mayor says the ripple effects of this tragedy are being felt in every corner of his community. He encouraged the community to rally around the families of the victims, even if only to send "thoughts of strength and support and love."

“If you know these families personally ... do what you can to reach out and to look out for them, as they’re going through the most difficult time of their lives,” he said.