WATCH ABOVE: The community of High River is coming together to celebrate the life of a young man whose life was cut tragically short. Two childhood friends were killed last weekend in a crash. Their deaths have hit the southern Alberta community hard. As Tracy Nagai reports, one of the young men is being remembered as an athlete and academic.
CALGARY- Family and friends say goodbye to two young men killed in a rollover northeast of High River.
Sunday afternoon, a celebration of life was held for Carter Corrigan and then in the later evening, a prayer service for his friend Eli.
This holiday season has been a difficult one for friends and family of the two young men.
Carter Corrigan and his childhood friend Eli Gosselin were killed last weekend in a crash on a rural road.
The car they were in rolled on to its roof, crashing into trees northeast of High River.
19-year-old Corrigan and 20-year-old Eli Gosselin were both pronounced dead at the scene.
They were just minutes down the road from Gosselin’s home.
Corrigan is being remembered as an athlete and academic.
Brent Corrigan holds back tears as he talks about his son.
“That’s the last words I heard from him. I’ll never forget that and I’ll always treasure that,” Corrigan said.
It was standing room only at the High River Memorial Centre to celebrate Carter Corrigan’s life, with more than 600 people in attendance.
“He was outstanding. Such an athlete. So intelligent. He got 100 % on his math diploma. He was just so smart and outstanding at everything. But I think the best thing about him is he knew how to make everyone feel amazing,” Alandra Corrigan, Carter’s sister said.
“My mom’s friend actually texted her saying there had been an accident and we started kind of panicking and waiting for either him to come home or the police to come and the police came,” she said.
“We were all together so we were very lucky that way.”
Corrigan was in his third year of engineering at the University of Alberta.
He had come home for the holidays.
Carter loved math and played several sports including hockey, football and one of his favourites, dodgeball.
“He was like a dodgeball legend up there, everywhere he went. ‘Hi Carter, hi Carter’ everybody knew him,” Brent Corrigan said.
“He was from what I understand, the dodgeball celebrity and my little sister plays too and they played on the same team. he loved it, it was his sport,” Alandra Corrigan said.
The deaths have hit this close knit community hard with many families growing up together.
Sharing the ice, or field, or gym with the young athletes.
The room full of support was a team of friends and family that will be a comfort to many in the days to come.
A memorial will be held for Eli Gosselin in Okotoks Monday.
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