Tributes and condolences are pouring in for Brooklyn Anderson, a Shellbrook teenager who was killed in a vehicle collision over the weekend. The driver of the other vehicle was charged with impaired driving causing death. Family members say the 16-year-old athlete was sassy, funny and stubborn when it came to things she believed in. Brooklyn loved people and her pets. A few years ago, Brooklyn was badly hurt but the goalie toughed it out before she let her parents know how serious the injury was. Brooklyn’s dad saw “she had tears in her eyes in between periods, but of course, she went back out,” recounted her mom Brandee Anderson. “She went down to save a puck and she didn’t get back up. When we went down to the dressing room, she was like screaming and like screaming, and she never screams. She doesn’t cry, and she threw her arms around me. She also doesn’t give hugs very easily, so if she was hugging me, you knew something was wrong.” Brandee says Brooklyn wanted to be an active teammate even with an injury that was later identified as a bruised femur. “She just wanted to play,” said Brandee. When they found out what the injury was, Brooklyn had to stay off her leg entirely for about half of the year but was eventually able to return to sports. The loss has been hard on Brooklyn’s friends. Brandee says the friends and classmates she’s spoken to are all very upset. “It’s a small class, they’re very close. It will leave a big hole.” Brandee wants her daughter to be remembered for her kindness, her love of others and her passion for life. Brooklyn was an active community member and a GoFundMe for the family has raised more than $60,000. The Prince Albert Minor Softball Association (PAMSA) described her as a warm, loving and kind player and said in a statement she will be missed by many. “She was just a good kid,” said Brooklyn’s softball coach Derek Mitchell. “She was a selfless teammate.” He met Brooklyn in March when she joined the team and says he and the U17 Aces knew her for too short of a time. “Missing a whole year of sports when you’re about 15 or 16-year-old, that’s tough to come back from, but Brooklyn was determined to work.” He says that Brooklyn was always ready to step up when needed and that her commitment, determination and positive attitude left a lasting impression on the team. “We had a little bit of a need for girls to pitch, and Brooklyn stepped up at tryouts and gave it a shot. And it’s kind of at that moment that I thought, yeah, this girl is going to be, she’s going to fit in well.” He says the PAMSA is working on a way to honour Brooklyn. The Grade 11 student was on the way home from supporting a friend at their football game in Saskatoon Saturday night when a truck collided with the SUV Brooklyn was driving on Highway 12 near Hepburn. Her mother was a passenger in the vehicle and survived with non-life-threatening injuries. Brooklyn was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS. Twenty-two-year-old Riley Farthing from Blaine Lake is charged with impaired driving causing death. He appeared in Saskatoon provincial court on Monday.
