A large throng of supporters turned out at Aldergrove Arena Monday evening with candles and balloons to help the Nelson family remember 12-year-old Coleton, who was killed in a vehicle collision two years ago.
The Nelson family, parents Brenda and Wayne, and sisters Chrystie and Alecsa, lost their son and brother, Coleton, on Feb. 18, 2011, in a crash at Robertson Crescent and 256 Street.
Coleton was a passenger in the car, which was broadsided by a garbage truck, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Coleton was a popular local student and player #10 for his Aldergrove Minor Hockey team. The community has kept his memory alive with memorial services at the Aldergrove Arena on the anniversary of his death, as well as through a legacy, the Coleton Nelson #10 Trust Fund that helps provide financial assistance to other young hockey players who love the game just as he did.
The Coleton Nelson Memorial Hockey Game has been held every spring at Aldergrove Arena, featuring local peewee and bantam teams, all of whom had played with Coleton over the years.
On Monday evening the assembled crowd held candles and watched a video of his life on a screen set up in the arena parking lot. Then the crowd released balloons into the sky together.
The intersection at which Coleton was killed has been fitted with a flashing warning light to alert drivers of the stop signs. However, the lights were not activated until this week.
