Many on the Peninsula are mourning Elgin Park grad Aaron Conci, 18, who died last week in a motor vehicle crash at Manning Park.

A celebration of life service is set for Thursday (Aug. 6) 3 p.m. at St. Mark’s Anglican Church (12953 20 Ave.) for the talented Junior B-level hockey player, who worked at O’Hagan’s Peninsula Cycles and was well-known as a keen cyclist.

“Everybody knew him at the bike park, everybody knew him at the hockey arena,” said Conci’s father, Rob, adding the popular teen was known as a designated driver among his peers.

Conci died after his Toyota Corolla spun out of control and collided with a semi-trailer in a torrential downpour on Highway 3 in the early evening of July 30. He was alone in the car and the only one injured in the accident.

Conci was on his way to join Rob and sister Cailyn, who had already driven up to a family reunion being held in Summerland.

It’s the second tragedy in recent years that has struck the family: Conci’s mother, Donna, died as a result of breast cancer in 2007, prompting his sister and friends to form the organization Angel Wings, which raises money through garage sales for breast cancer research and increased awareness of the disease.

Conci, co-captain of his Semiahmoo midget hockey team last season, had just been signed by the North Delta Devils junior team.

Carol Cluff, whose son played midget hockey with Conci, remembered him as “a very skilled player” and “a big defenseman with a wicked slapshot, a beautiful skater, and a team leader.”

“He was a big kid – an imposing figure on the ice, but off the ice he had a very kind heart.”

Rob Conci and aunt Leslie Potter said they have been overwhelmed by tributes from people in the community who have come to the family’s South Surrey home.

“So many people have come over to the house and so many people have said how much of a mentor he was and how important he was to so many kids’ lives,” Potter said, adding that Conci was known for the good example he set among his peers by not drinking and not using drugs.

“He always made sure his friends got home, and he played with all the smaller kids,” Rob remembered.

“He was always a good kid; a great kid. I don’t understand what happened here.”

He added he believed that inexperience as a driver could have been a factor when his son encountered the rain-slick highway.

“He wasn’t ready for it,” he said. “I wish I could have been there to help him.”