Kristopher Tavener was a competitive hockey player but dreams of a life dedicated to the sport died with him when the car he was travelling in collided with a tanker truck on a highway near Lloydminster early Saturday.
Tavener, 17, was one of six teens – all aged between 13 and 17 and all from the Lloydminster area – who were killed in the crash along Highway 17.
The Tavener family, from Marshall, Sask., waited quietly in their home Saturday, knowing some of Kristopher's friends had been confirmed dead and that their son and brother was still missing, reports the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix.
It wasn't long before they received a call from the RCMP asking them to a meeting with all the parents involved in the tragedy. Kristopher's 12-year-old bother went to stay with a friend, while his 11-year-old sister stayed home with a family friend, according to the Star-Phoenix.
It was at that meeting that Mounties broke the news to them Kristopher had also been involved in the crash and had not survived.
Shaken by the news, Tavener's parents called their son a "protective big brother and a loving son," a "true and faithful friend" who was a gifted hockey player, according to the CBC.
He enjoyed fishing, hunting and spending time in the outdoors.
"A part of our world has been taken, we will never ever forget you and love you always," the Tavener family said in a statement posted by the CBC.
The other five teens killed in the crash are Aimie Candace Hurley, 14, from Lloydminster, Mackenzie Moen, 14, from Lloydminster, Naomi Salas-Schafer, 13, from Lloydminster, Jayden Boettcher, 16, from Marshall, Sask. and Tarren Attfield, 15, from Lashburn, Sask.
Mounties continue to investigate the crash but say they are uncertain at this point what caused it.
The collision was originally reported as a semi roll-over. In the course of their investigation, Mounties discovered a second vehicle was involved in the incident and that five dead teens lay inside it. A sixth teen was taken to hospital, where he later died due to his injuries.
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