Residents of the villages
of Linden and Acme – an hour northeast of Calgary – are attempting to
recover from the horror of a motor vehicle tragedy January 15 that claimed
the lives of two popular teens on the Acme Redmen basketball team.
Kyle Kostrosky and Ryan Wiens, both 17, died when a van
carrying them and other members and three coaches of the Acme High School
team collided with a pickup truck on a rural road near Strathmore. Initial
reports suggested the van slid through a stop sign and was struck on the
passenger side by the truck headed east on Highway 564. The team was
traveling to games in Strathmore.
In addition to being popular athletes, both Wiens and
Kostrosky were devoted Christians and active participants at Linden
Mennonite Brethren Church and Linden Alliance Church, respectively. Funeral
services at the Linden MB Church for Wiens on January 20 and for Kostrosky
on January 21 drew close to 1,200 people for each.
An essay written by Wiens in grade 9 entitled "Me, Myself
and I" was circulated at his memorial. It read in part: "My family comes in
second in my life, right behind the commitment I have made to God…In my
life, I will always try to put God first, no matter what the consequences. I
made a commitment to Him and I feel I have to fulfill it."
A video remembering Kostrosky’s life was played at his
funeral. It showed an enthusiastic young man who enjoyed basketball,
badminton and wakeboarding. The teen had already been accepted for
engineering studies at the University of Calgary.
"This has been a very traumatic occasion for scores of
people," Rev. Norm Backhouse, an associate pastor at Linden Alliance told
CLN shortly after the funerals for the young men. "Ryan and Kyle were
very well liked and were leaders academically, athletically and spiritually.
I would describe the community as numb."
"While we thank God that already there have been a few
indications He is changing lives through this tragedy," Backhouse said,
"it’s also true that some are struggling with anger and questions. We’re
attempting to help them realize their responses are normal yet also ensure
they ultimately don’t get stuck there."
