Calgary high school grad killed in Idaho car crash
18-year-old remembered for love of life, devotion to friends and family
An 18-year-old Calgarian killed in a highway crash in northern Idaho had graduated from high school just weeks ago and was looking forward to a career in business.
Spencer Ritchie was visiting friends in the U.S. state when he was killed in a head-on collision Monday afternoon.
Idaho State Police say a 2007 BMW 335I driven by Ritchie entered the left lane on U.S. Highway 95 north of Bonners Ferry and collided with an oncoming vehicle.
“The BMW left the road down an embankment. Ritchie was pronounced deceased at the scene,” said the news release provided by the force’s Coeur d’Alene detachment.
The collision, which injured six people in the other vehicle, remains under investigation but there’s no word of any charges pending.
Ritchie always lived life to the fullest, including a stint as a talented gymnast — a sport in which he competed in China in his middle school years — and more recently excelling at snowboarding, said close friend Benny MacKay.
“He enjoyed life way too much to be distracted by anything,” said MacKay.
“He did something he enjoyed every day ... his life may have been short but he lived a very full life.”
Ritchie, he said, was also devoted to friends and family, who were many, he added.
“He was such a supportive friend — if you had a dream or a goal, he’d try to make it work for you,” said MacKay, 18.
“It’s important to understand how much joy he brings to his family.”
Both young men graduated in June from Robert Thirsk High School, with Ritchie headed to the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon to pursue business administration.
“He had everything sorted out to focus on his education,” said MacKay, adding he’d also worked diligently to purchase his BMW.
Injured in the collision was a 39-year-old California man who was driving a 2017 Ford Expedition pulling a trailer.
He was airlifted to an area hospital while a 36-year-old woman and four youths in the Ford suffered minor injuries.
Seatbelts were worn by all occupants of both vehicles involved, said police.