The last phone call Owen Wood had with his brother, Alexander, lasted 48 seconds.

Alexander had texted his brother from the road after his final day of lifeguard training at Jalama Beach. He asked his brother if he wanted anything from In-N-Out Burger. Owen called him back and requested a 3×3 — three patties with three cheese slices in bread.

The special order sparked instant laughter from Alexander, a 15-year-old from Santa Barbara, and his two friends in the car — 18-year-old Jake Curtis of Goleta and 17-year-old Michael Ochsner of Santa Barbara.

Three minutes later, the three boys died in multi-vehicle wreck on Highway 1 south of Lompoc.

The phone call was at 6:01 p.m. Sunday. The crash occurred at 6:04 p.m.

“It gives me a small level of comfort,” Wood said. “When you think about it, they were probably laughing when the accident happened. They were happy.”

He told the story of his last conversation with his younger brother at a candlelight vigil Thursday evening at the Greek Theatre at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta. A large crowd — about 1,200 people, according to Principal Bill Woodard — attended the event. They carried candles and flowers, and they cried in mourning for the three students.

The deaths of the three boys has devastated the community and especially shaken the Dos Pueblos High School community. Thursday’s vigil brought out Dos Pueblos families, alumni and people from throughout the South Coast.

“They were bright, kind, committed students,” Woodard said. “They were lifeguards, classmates, athletes, students, brothers, sons and friends.”

Students, family members, staff, elected officials and community leaders attended the event. The Greek Theatre was full, and the standing-room-only crowd spilled out onto the main campus.

Woodard addressed the crowd first.

“In the face of such loss, words often fall short,” Woodard said, “but what we can do is stand together. We can grieve together, and we can support one another as we begin the long and difficult journey of healing.”

More than a dozen of the students’ friends and family members spoke, some pre-planned, but most of them were compelled to speak in the moment.

Student Cate Bishop said she knew Ochsner for a year and was his girlfriend for the past five months.

She said that a week ago they were on her couch, surrounded by cats and dogs, and were looking for something to watch. She said she ended up picking “Grown Ups” by Adam Sandler.

“I had never seen it, but he had, and he laughed at every single joke,” Bishop said. “I have never met anyone else with the same sense of humor as me. We had running jokes that would continue for hours and hours.”

She said Ochsner deserved everything life could offer him.

“He was so kind, he was so respectful, and I never felt anything less than safe in his presence,” Bishop said.

Ryan Curtis, Jake Curtis’ cousin, said they were best friends and that he remembers playing video games together.

“His mind worked differently,” Curtis said. “He was really good at figuring stuff out. He kind of pissed me off because he was better than me. He was special in that way.”

He said anyone who knew his cousin knew that he had the “biggest heart.”

Dax Curtis, Jake’s father, spoke at the event.

He said his son had an older sister and a twin brother and sister.

“He was the best big brother ever,” Dax Curtis said. “He was everything to them. He so impacted our lives in every way. He was an amazing kid from day one. He cared about everybody.”