(ABC 6 News) – It’s been one year since the fatal crash that took the life of 18-year-old Olivia Flores of Owatonna. In the wake of that tragedy, those who knew and loved her have had to find ways to cope with the loss.

For her family, there’s a world where – right now – Olivia would be hanging out with friends, coaching cheer, and choosing a college.

But that’s not the world the Flores’ live in.

They live in a world of silence.

A year after her death, there are some things Carlos, Stephanie, and Christian just can’t shake.

For Christian, Olivia’s younger brother, it’s how normal that day was.

“I was just sitting on a couch in my buddy’s front yard and my sister got hit by a car the same second I was doing that,” he said. “It’s just tough that it happened so fast.”

In the days leading up to the anniversary, Carlos, Olivia’s father, said he would find himself thinking everything was okay; that Olivia was still with them.

“Up until the 19th, we could be like, ‘Oh, she was doing this,'” he said. “She was still feet on the ground, she was still on this planet. And like there’s been like a secret, icky countdown going on.”

Then came the fateful day, and Carlos was taken right back to the hospital room, hand on Olivia’s chest.

“I was there when her heart beat for the first time and we heard it,” Carlos said. “And I was there when it stopped.”

Since then, the Flores’ have had to live without the things they never thought they would.

For Stephanie, Olivia’s mother, it’s her laughter.

“”If you knew Liv,” she said. “Like knew knew Liv, she was a very funny girl. (She) did a lot of sly comments, or just random quips or was quick to be sarcastic.”

And in true sibling fashion, it’s not having someone to argue with for Christian.

“It’s quite,” he said. “I’d give anything to have one more argument or one more text message of her saying, ‘Hey, stop being a jerk.'”

What’s helped the family get through the last year, in part, has been the often overwhelming support of their friends, family, and extended community.

On Facebook, dozens of pictures cover a page dedicated to taking Olivia across the country and the world, in honor of her desire to travel after graduating.

The Flores’ keep a map covered in pins at home to mark each new location she goes to.

“She’s been to 90 countries,” Carlos said.

And they frequently get pictures of sunrises and sunsets – something they say Olivia lived for.

“I sometimes think that people are afraid to tell us the good things about her, or they’ve had dreams about her, or how kind she was to them because she has died and it may hurt us,” Stephanie said. “But I find it very heart-warming and comforting.”

“She wasn’t just my sister, she was my friends sister,” said Christian. “She was the oldest sister to a lot of people. I’m glad I got to share my sister.”

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At Owatonna High School, the halls are a little less cheerful than they once were.

“I remember walking with her to (class) because our classes would be by each other,” said Addy Krenzelok. “It’s hard knowing that she’s not there.”

Krenzelok, now finishing up her junior year, was a close friend of Olivia’s and one of her teammates on the cheerleading team.

She still remembers the confusion and rumors of the day of the crash, and piecing together what little information she could find.

“I searched up ‘things that happened in Rochester’ cause I knew that she was in Rochester and I found a crash,” Krenzelok said. “And I was like, ‘Oh, Olivia’s location hasn’t moved.’ I kind of just put it together myself.”

Head varsity cheer coach, Jenna Compton, also put the pieces together, though more hesitantly, as the rumors came flooding her way as well.

“I was, the whole time, just like, ‘Well, I’m just waiting until it’s official. We’re not just talking about it,'” she said.

“And then I got a text from (Olivia’s) mom… and it was just devastating.”

Olivia’s absence came especially hard for many on the cheer team, as her involvement was not intended to end with graduation.

“She actually was going to be coaching with us the following year,” Compton said. “She was just so excited to be in charge, finally moving up and everything.”

That excitement reciprocated.

“She wasn’t going to be leaving us, she was going to be there helping us.”

That excitement dashed in an instant.

“To get the news was just extra hard.”

But that tragedy did more than leave a void; it strengthened the bonds of team in desperate need of healing.

“She was like just a bundle of joy really,” said Krenzelok. “Some people may have not been as close with her but they were around her and they knew her presence. I think it just brought the cheer team a lot closer in a way that we haven’t been before.”

In many ways, Olivia’s legacy lives on through the work of the team.

They’ve been some of the strongest allies of the Flores family, as they seek criminal and civil justice for her death.

And they’ve ensure her memory lives in little reminders across the school and beyond.

T-shirts, key chains, yard signs, and banners litter the town of Owatonna in the aftermath of her death.

In the back of the teams storage room at the high school, Olivia’s old cheerleading uniform is retired, encased in a frame with a picture and quote of what she believed it meant to be a cheerleader:

But the biggest way they remember her is through recognizing those who live out her spirit.

Each year now, one cheerleader is chosen by her teammates to be given the “Olivia Flores Kindness Award” and the teams end of the year banquet.

The team chooses whoever lives and works the same way Olivia did.

“Live went out of her way to help others,” said Krenzelok. “I think it’s really just like who goes above and beyond and tries to help other people even if they’re not on the same squad.”

Much like a similar award for another fallen cheerleader from 2003, it’s a way to keep Olivia in mind, hopefully for decades to come.

“That’s kind of a neat thing to think about,” said Compton. “Like we’re still giving that award out 20 years later, so hopefully, that will continue with the Olivia award too, that people will still be remembering and hearing her story.”