Langley teen’s family recalls tragic moments after deadly crash

The loved ones of a 17-year-old boy killed in a crash in Langley are recalling the tragic moment when they learned of the teen’s death, as they continue to be consumed by grief.

Taren Lal was the only person in the vehicle when the Tesla he was driving veered off Fraser Highway on Jan. 7.

“He was the best. Best brother, best son,” Sarabjeet Nanara-Lal, Taren’s mother, told OMNI News. “He was a gem, he was an all-arounder, he was so handsome, he was so knowledgeable.”

The teen’s mother says she spoke with her son shortly before the crash was reported. She had asked him to pick up some food on his way home.

“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 explained, noting his parents began to worry as the minutes went by and Taren had not returned.

“And then his car was off road, it was not on Fraser Highway. So we kept on wondering why is the car there? It’s not supposed to be there. We kept on calling him again and again and again, 15 times, 16 times, 17 times, 18 times, no answer.”

Sarabjeet Nanara-Lal, whose son Taren was killed in a crash in Langley on Jan. 7, 2023, recalled the moments she found out about her teen’s death. (OMNI News Image)

Sarabjeet and her husband decided to call some of Taren’s friends to see if they were with him. When they confirmed they were not, and after more calls to his phone, the family jumped in a car to head to the vehicle’s location.

“When we got there, police had blocked off the whole block, we couldn’t even get to the site — it was … almost 200 feet away, and we couldn’t get to the place. That’s when, in my heart, I was like, ‘please be alive, please be alive,’ again and again I kept saying to myself,” the mother explained.

It was after police asked the family to pull over that they came and broke the news. Sarabjeet says she and her loved ones broke down when the officer on scene confirmed Taren’s death.

Now, many questions remain, including what exactly caused the crash in the first place.

“We don’t know which way the car went, if something came in front of him, we don’t know that. We know it was raining really hard,” she said.

“Honestly, to me, I feel like he’s gone. I feel like the more I find out about how he died, the more I’m going to break down and I won’t be able to recover. I know that he’s gone, he’s not coming back. All I have are memories left.”

Sarabjeet says they also have not yet been able to see Taren’s body, with no word on when that might happen.

The family says they call police every day, with no updates.

In a statement to OMNI News, the Langley RCMP says “investigators continue to look into all causal factors.”

“These are complex investigations and it is still very early in the investigation.”

Langley crash victim ‘was a leader’

Sarabjeet says her son was “so mature for his age,” adding he was always strong — even in her own times of weakness.

“He would always come and be like, ‘Mom, forget about it, don’t worry about it, you’re going to be fine.’ He would always make you feel better,” she recalled.

“He was more than the pillar — he was the backbone (of the family),” Sarabjeet added, noting he helped run the family business in Aldergrove and was always great with customers. “You could always count on him.”

Taren was also a member of his high school wrestling and Kabbadi teams, showing much talent and discipline.

Tamanawis wrestling head coach Jessy Sahota says out of a group of about 50 kids, Taren “was one of a kind.”

“He was a leader, he was the face of our program, he was a natural born champion. He trained hard, he was very disciplined,” Sahota recalled.

“I have to constantly remind the other students to do their homework, to eat right, to stay away from bad influences. I never had to give that sort of coaching or advice to Taren, because he did it himself. Not only did he do it for himself, he led by example and he set an example for his teammates who followed in his footsteps. And this is horrific news. It’s not only a huge loss for the Lal family, this is a tremendous loss for our school community, to our sports community and I would say everybody.”

17 Yrs old Surrey teen Taran Lal was killed in a crash at Langley on Jan 7th. Family is devastated with this tragic loss & remembering him as best son, brother, wrestler and Kabbadi player. His family friend arranged candlelight vigil tomorrow at his school. ⁦@OMNIpunjabi⁩ pic.twitter.com/0v9VNUUGIN

— Prabhjot Kahlon (@PrabhjotKahlon) January 12, 2023

Sahota says he and the community are still trying to come to terms with the news of Taren’s death.

Meanwhile, he says he’ll always remember Taren’s smile.

“You know when I heard the awful news, I was in tears, I was very distraught and one of the things I did is I looked at old pictures of Taren. And when I saw his smile, I couldn’t help but smile — that’s how powerful it was,” he told OMNI. “Whenever he came into a room, he lit it up. He was a ball of energy, he was positive, he was optimistic, he was somebody that I looked forward to seeing. And not only was he one of my students, I was fortunate enough to be his neighbour. I considered him a little brother, and you know in many years to come, I will always remember his smile.”

A GoFundMe page set up for the Lal family has already surpassed its $10,000 goal. In addition to supporting the family, fundraiser organizers say the money raised with go toward helping “assist his younger sister” as well as some of the communities he was involved in.

Taren’s family and friends have organized a vigil at Tamanawis Secondary for Friday.