17-year-old Sikh boy dies in car crash in Canada

Toronto: A 17-year-old Sikh boy has died in a horrific car crash after he lost control of his vehicle in Canada's British Columbia province, according to media reports.

Taren Lal was driving home earlier this month when the car he was travelling in veered off the Fraser Highway in Langley, British Columbia, the CityNews Vancouver reported.

According to the Global News Canada news station, the force of the crash which happened on January 7 was such that it flattened a fence and toppled a tree.

Lal's mother Sarabjeet Nanara-Lal told OMNI News that she spoke to him shortly before the crash was reported.

“I put the phone down and went for a shower. When I came back, his dad was on the phone and was just checking up on the car,” she told OMNI News, according to the report.

She said that apart from the fact that it was raining heavily, nothing else is known about the possible cause of the crash.

Lal's family told Global News that he was a good student at Tamanawis Secondary School in Surrey and was heavily involved in sports.

A GoFundMe fundraiser launched to help his family with the funeral costs, described him as a "loving son, protective older brother, unforgettable friend, and a beloved role model to those around him."