Funeral held for teen hockey player killed in Surrey car crash
Ronin Sharma was one of three hockey players killed last weekend when car they were in hit a tree
The family of teenager Ronin Sharma, one of three aspiring hockey players killed in a car crash last weekend in Surrey, B.C., held his funeral on Saturday.
"I can't quite put the words together to describe the situation we are in," said Ryan Sharma, Ronin Sharma's older brother.
"I never once thought I would have to write a speech to give out at a funeral, especially one for my 16-year-old brother."
Ronin Sharma, who would have turned 17 in October, was killed alongside Parker Magnuson and Caleb Reimer when the car they were travelling in crashed into a tree in the Fraser Heights neighbourhood of Surrey last Saturday.
All three were members of the Delta Hockey Academy. Sharma played for Junior A Langley Rivermen Hockey Club.
At the funeral, his family said Ronin Sharma was the type of person who "lit up a room" when he walked into it and a person who brought "joy and laughter."
His siblings also spoke about his talent for hockey and his drive to succeed in the sport.
"You were an inspiration to not only your peers, but all of us," his brother said.
Speakers at the funeral included Ryan, Ronin's older sister Natasha, and his eldest cousin Sunita Sharma.
"No words in the world will ever explain how much I miss you," Natasha said on Saturday. "I'd do anything in the world to see your face and see you smile one more time.
She said she was proud of the impact her little brother had on so many people.
"Ronin you were so young, you had so much time to live, and so many things to experience as a teenager," she said.
Legacy project
Details of the private funeral were shared with the media by Sharma's family on Saturday, which took place at Valley View Funeral Home & Cemetery on 72nd Avenue in Surrey and filmed so that friends and family members could attend virtually.
Ronin was set to turn 17 on Oct. 8, which his uncle Tarsem Nath said is the day the Langley Rivermen's season will play its first game of the season.
Nath said the family is working on developing a legacy project to remember him by.
On Friday, Surrey RCMP said speed was a contributing factor in the crash but that the investigation into what happened is ongoing.