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Fatal crash victim Colton Keeler a "beautiful person": father

Colton Keeler, 19, could take something bad and turn it into something good, says his father Darren Keeler.It’s an example family and friends say they are going to follow.“I’m not going to let my son die in vain,” the Red Deer man said on Wednesday.
Keeler
Colton Keeler

Colton Keeler, 19, could take something bad and turn it into something good, says his father Darren Keeler.

It’s an example family and friends say they are going to follow.

“I’m not going to let my son die in vain,” the Red Deer man said on Wednesday.

“The saddest thing is that Colton and his friends, there were two car loads of them, were doing it right, they went out partying Friday night and they had designated drivers and it still turned out wrong.”

A 29-year-old Lacombe woman is facing several drunk driving charges in connection with a crash early Saturday that killed Colton and seriously injured his 17-year-old friend.

Blackfalds RCMP responded to a report of a two-vehicle crash on Hwy 11A, about eight km west of Hwy 2, shortly after 3:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Police allege that two teens from Red Deer were struck by a midsized car while pushing a broken down compact car along the eastbound lane of the highway.

The 17-year-old boy was flown with serious injuries to hospital in Edmonton by STARS air ambulance.

Keeler said he expects at least 500 people at the funeral on Saturday at the New Life Fellowship Church on 20 Kelloway Crescent at 10 a.m.

Colton made a difference in many lives, he said.

“They always say when someone passes away what a beautiful person they were and how they made a difference, but for Colton it was true, it was really true.

“Every person he came in contact with he touched and, boy, it is sure showing now.”

Keeler says his son, who graduated in 2010 from Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School, had an infectious smile.

“It was the first thing everybody would notice about him. It was the type of smile you would fall in love with,” he said.

“A big part of the healing process right now is including his friends and his girlfriend,” Keeler said.

Colton and his girlfriend, Bethany Silbernagel, planned to move to Calgary to attend post-secondary school. Colton was interested in attending SAIT in order to become a conductor on the railroad.

“She is such a gorgeous young girl,” Keeler said of Silbernagel. “She was the love of his life, I really think they were in it for the long haul.”

Colton was most recently employed, along with his mother, Brandee, at Olymel. The family includes two other sons, Chandler, 13, and Gordon, 12.

“They are having a real hard time with it and they are wrapping themselves in their family right now,” Keeler said, noting that the boys are receiving massive support through Facebook, which is helping them.

“These kids are getting it, they really are,” Keeler said. “So many people are grieving with us, but at the end of the day, he should have never lost his life like this.”

A trust fund has been set up to assist Colton’s family. People can donate to any Alberta Treasury Branch to a fund labelled “Mark Davidson in trust for the Keeler family.” The branch number is 870 and the account number is 00050407600.

April Gail Beauclair of Lacombe faces six charges in connection with the crash, including impaired operation causing death and two counts of impaired operation causing bodily harm. She is to return to court in Red Deer on Thursday to enter a plea.

jjones@www.reddeeradvocate.com