Alcohol, speed lead to crash, kills BC teen hockey player: Coroner

Drunk driving and excessive speed were the cause of a car accident in August 2021 that killed three teenage hockey players in B.C., according to a coroner’s report.

A BC Coroners Service report released on Friday confirms that 16- to 17-year-old Parker Magnuson, Ronin Sharma and Caleb Reimer died of blunt force trauma in the Aug. 21, 2021 crash.

It follows a 15-month investigation into an accident that rocked BC’s junior hockey community and the wider hockey community.

The coroner said Magnuson was driving his Ford Focus westward along 104th Street in Surrey at 2:40 a.m. when he drove past a curve and into a tree.

The car’s speed before the crash was 187 km/h, according to the on-board computer.

The coroner’s report said a toxicological analysis found that Magnuson, who held a Class N driver’s license, had consumed “moderate to heavy” amounts of alcohol.

In British Columbia, N-level licenses have a zero blood alcohol limit. Also, a driver with an N license is only allowed one passenger under the age of 25.

At the time of the accident, the teenager’s death drew condolences and tributes from several teams of which they were members, the Delta Hockey Academy, the NHL, and the Western Hockey League.

Ronin’s jersey was retired by his team, the Langley Rivermen, on his 17th birthday last October.