Alcohol and excessive speed contributed to a car crash that claimed the lives of three BC junior hockey players in August 2021, according to a medical examiner’s report.
The BC Coroners Service report released Friday confirmed that Parker Magnuson, Ronin Sharma and Caleb Reimer, who were between the ages of 16 and 17, died of blunt force injuries in the Aug. 21, 2021, crash.
It follows a 15-month investigation into the crash, which rocked BC’s youth hockey community and the broader hockey community.
According to the coroner, Magnuson was driving a Ford Focus west on 104th Avenue in Surrey at 2:40 a.m. when he missed a curve and crashed into a tree.
RCMP film investigating the crash near 104th Avenue and Highway 1 in August 2021. (Shane MacKichan for CBC)
The car was traveling at 187 km/h before the impact according to the on-board computer.
The coroner’s report said a toxicology test found Magnuson, who holds a Class N driver’s license, had consumed a “moderate to heavy” amount of alcohol.
In British Columbia, Level N licenses include a zero blood alcohol limit. Drivers with an N license are also only allowed to have one passenger under the age of 25.
At the time of the crash, the teenagers’ deaths drew condolences and tributes from the Delta Hockey Academy, of which they were members, the NHL and several Western Hockey League teams.
Ronin’s shirt was retired by his Langley Rivermen team on what would have been his 17th birthday last October.
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