A 14-year-old boy has died after he was found in critical condition at the Walnut Grove Skate in Langley Wednesday night.
The park is adjacent to the Walnut Grove Community Centre at 88 Avenue and Walnut Grove Drive.
The BC Coroners Service says the boy died “suddenly and unexpectedly.”
He was rushed to hospital after being found in critical condition, but died a short time later.
“We’re in the very early stages of our investigation to determine how, where, when and by what means he came to his death,” said BC Coroners spokesperson Andy Watson.
“Obviously that’s going to take some time, but certainly we are investigating, we were notified and we are investigating.”
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A candlelight vigil was held at the skate park Wednesday night, where family confirmed the boy was 14-year-old Carson Crimeni, a Grade 9 student at Walnut Grove Secondary School.
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“It’s a tragedy,” Carson’s father Aron Crimeni said, while thanking the dozens of people who showed up to pay their respects.
“He was a very happy boy. Very happy, very loving, very caring. He was my best friend.”
Friends of the boy said he was among a group of teens who were taking drugs at the skate park, and heard afterwards that he later fell ill.
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“I was crying earlier because he was like a best friend to me, you know?” 15-year-old Isaiah Green said before the vigil. “He could do some stupid stuff sometimes, but he was a good kid overall.”
Officials have not indicated to Global News the death is being treated as an overdose.
Crimeni confirmed he’s heard that some of the other teens at the park with Carson may not have helped him, and hopes whoever those kids are will be held accountable.
“The smallest thought that a call to 911 a couple hours earlier may have changed everything is devastating, it really is,” he said while holding back tears.
“I would just expect that if people see someone in danger, that they do something to help them.”
Langley RCMP referred all calls to the Independent Investigation Office (IIO), which could provide a few details and referred media calls to the coroner’s office.
IIO spokesperson Nicola Collins says they were called because “police were in proximity of the boy, looking for him.”
—With files from Julia Foy
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