People living in Didsbury, Alta., and surrounding areas are supporting the families of two teens who died in a rollover crash this week.
Friends and family have identified the victims as 16-year-old Reid Fisher and 14-year-old Lila Morrison.
RCMP were called to a single-vehicle crash near Township Road 292 and Range Road 14 around 5 p.m., where they found the teens dead.
“My nephew Reid was an incredible young man,” said Reid’s aunt Randilee Fisher on Friday.
“He was very well-rounded. He has so many interests and he was involved in the community in so many ways,”
She said he played hockey and recently played basketball on the high school team.
When he was younger, he was with 4-H club, did snowshoeing and outdoor survival with his family.
“He had a job here in town and he worked hard for everything that he had in his young life,” Randilee said.
She said Reid enjoyed outdoors activities and shot his first buck this year when he was with his mom, Randilee’s sister.
“He was very polite. In a lot of ways, we taught him to be an old-fashioned gentleman,” she said.
Reid was with his girlfriend Lila Morrison when the truck they were in rolled over near Crossfield on Wednesday.
Fundraisers have been set up for both families.
“Sadly Lila our sweet angel, the girl who would light up any room she entered, the girl who loved cats and had an unwavering passion for volleyball, passed away tragically at the young age of 14 on Dec. 27, 2023.”
A Morrison family friend says they are thankful to have such a caring community across the province sharing and offering support to the families.
Reid’s aunt says Reid and Lila had a special way of parting.
“When they said goodbye to each other, one would say: ‘I love you,’ the other one would say: ‘I love you more,'” Randilee said.
Zion Church is Didsbury is hosting an open house on Sunday to support the community.
The town of Didsbury posted a message on Friday telling residents support is available.
If you or someone you know is struggling and needs someone to talk to, help is available.
– Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868
– Mental Health Helpline: 1-877-303-2642
– Rapid Access Counselling (FREE and you are able to do multiple sessions – single session counselling means you talk about one topic each session): 1.877.244.2360 or https://www.racalberta.ca
“He was very loved by so many, his friends and his family. He’s going to be missed so much,” Randilee said.
She fondly remembered a trip she took with her nephew to Florida.
“I had the blessing and opportunity to take him on a trip when he was 12 years old to Florida. He loved science and we got to go to the Kennedy Space Centre and we got to see alligators in the Everglades.
“He had such a fun personality. We will miss him so much,” Randilee said.
According to RCMP, the two teens were travelling back from Balzac after visiting Cross Iron Mills mall.
Collision analysts are working to figure out what happened. No cause has been determined.