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Friends Remember Palmyra Man Found Dead After Bills Game

By: Vanessa Herring
Updated: November 16, 2012
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26 year old David Gerken Jr.'s body was found face down in a creek near Orchard Park early this morning. His death has been ruled accidental, by drowning.

The Palmyra man was at Ralph Wilson Stadium to watch his favorite team take on the Bills. Friends say he was excited to watch the game and cheer on the Dolphins, "we all knew he was going he wouldn't miss a Bills Dolphins game if he could do it," said friend Frank Smith, "he was always rooting...to kill the bills because everybody would always say squish the fish to him."

Gerken was kicked out of the stadium Thursday night around half time. That's the last time anyone saw him alive. Police still aren't sure why he was asked to leave. Friend Anthony Latona says the circumstances surrounding Dave's death shouldn't cast a shadow on his character, "all of us have done really stupid things he just happened to get thrown out of the stadium you know, that could be anybody," explained Latona, "but as far as the negative things I really hope all those people could just be human for a second."

Latona performed rap music with Dave as part of the Fresh Kids group. Dave was supposed to perform tonight, and the show is dedicated to him, "he always wore green a lot of the pictures you see him in he's wearing green, he had some horrible green shirts, but he had a lot of great ones too," said friend Eddie Balanca, "so we're going to do that, have the green on to represent our friendship."

While friends pay tribute Dave's girlfriend Brittany Zonneville says Dave was the light of her life, and she's still in shock, "he just made the colors a lot brighter and made every day a lot more special and it's definitely going to be a new transition starting tomorrow realizing he's not there even just to say good morning."

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