19-year-old Austin Benz (pictured) died in a crash in Ontario on Thursday night (Photo courtesy of Shane Benz / Facebook)

By Scott Roblin

Community Mourning

Single-vehicle crash claims the life of Redcliff hockey player

Oct 23, 2020 | 6:52 PM

REDCLIFF, AB – Redcliff’s minor hockey community is in mourning following the passing of a longtime player in the community.

The family of Austin Benz confirmed the 19 year old’s death on social media on Friday, tragically passing away in a single-vehicle crash in Ontario on Thursday night.

Ontario Provincial Police say the vehicle left the road at around 8:30 pm and struck a home near Avonmore, Ontario with Benz being pronounced dead at the scene.

Benz spent his entire minor hockey career within the Redcliff Minor Hockey system, playing as recently as 2019 in the Central Alberta Hockey League.

In a post on Facebook, Austin’s father Shane wrote, “Austin really was the most confident, hardest working 19yr old we know! There wasn’t anywhere he didn’t go where he wasn’t trying to make someone laugh with his crazy stories or wonderful laugh.”

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A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise funds for the Benz family.

More to come…