At his family home in Surrey, Travis Selje is everywhere, yet nowhere.

Reminders of a teenager taken too soon are visible immediately, upon entry at the front door.

Framed soccer and baseball jerseys line the wall up the stairs leading to Travis91裸聊视频� bedroom, virtually untouched since that fateful evening two years ago Friday (May 3).

A blue hoodie of his also rests untouched on a newel post where he left it, at the top of the stairs outside his trophy-filled room. On an opposite wall, a framed collection of photos includes images of Travis in every grade through school, with a blank space for the Grade 12 year he never experienced.

Outside, there91裸聊视频檚 a soccer net and artificial turf he never got to use.

91裸聊视频淭hat was for him to train on, and that net, we assembled that the day before he died,91裸聊视频� lamented his father, Miki.

91裸聊视频淗e wanted it, so we ordered it, put it together on the Tuesday, and on Wednesday he was dead. And I can91裸聊视频檛 take it down.91裸聊视频�

At around 9 p.m. on May 3, 2017, Travis Malcolm Selje 91裸聊视频� pronounced SELL-yay 91裸聊视频搘as on his way home from a soccer practice when a speeding Cadillac slammed into his Honda Prelude, which was stopped at a red light, heading east.

The 17-year-old, a high-level athlete and straight-A student, succumbed to his massive injuries at Royal Columbian Hospital two days later.

Last October, Surrey resident Rituraj Kaur Grewal, 24, was charged in connection with the crash, her next day in court to come next year.

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91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 no excuse,91裸聊视频� Miki said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 like pulling a trigger of a gun, as far as I91裸聊视频檓 concerned.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 why we don91裸聊视频檛 call it an accident, we call it a crime,91裸聊视频� added Travis91裸聊视频� mother, Carola.

Near the site of the crash, on the southwest corner of 64th Avenue and 176th Street, a roadside memorial includes a white metal cross built by Miki, a machinist by trade.

91裸聊视频淭hat was the hardest thing I ever did,91裸聊视频� he said in a quavering voice while seated on his home91裸聊视频檚 cozy backyard patio, which the family had built partly as a safe haven for Travis and his older sister, Sara, to socialize with friends.

On a sunny morning last week, the heartbroken Selje family 91裸聊视频� Miki, Carola and their daughter Sara, along with Miki91裸聊视频檚 brother Markus and family friend Angie Suomi 91裸聊视频� gathered there to speak to a reporter for the first time since Travis91裸聊视频� death, to talk about and also about a foundation launched in his name.

They also shared fond memories about Travis, the ultra-competitive athlete and neat-freak student who somehow found time to hold down a pair of part-time jobs 91裸聊视频� at the Fast Track go-kart place in Langley and also at the Ace Hardware store on Cloverdale91裸聊视频檚 main drag, not far from the home Travis had known since birth.

Carola remembers her son as a hard-working boy who excelled at soccer and pretty much everything else he set his mind to, including the game of baseball. One day, at the age of 12, Travis had to choose between the two sports when operators of the Vancouver Whitecaps91裸聊视频� youth program came calling.

91裸聊视频淗e decided with a heavy heart to focus on soccer,91裸聊视频� Carola remembers. 91裸聊视频淗e tried to play baseball for another year after that, but it didn91裸聊视频檛 quite work, just not enough time.91裸聊视频�

For his Grade 10 year, Travis commuted daily to Burnaby Central Secondary for classes with the other young Whitecaps prospects.

91裸聊视频淓very morning he left at 5:30 and didn91裸聊视频檛 get home until 7, and he kept straight-As and never complained once,91裸聊视频� Miki said.

91裸聊视频淔or a 15-year-old kid, that91裸聊视频檚 pretty good.91裸聊视频�

Four years into it, with injuries mounting and change in the air, Travis left the Whitecaps program to return to Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary, much closer to home.

At age 16, he was also again positioned as centre-back defender with Surrey United, the club where he began playing the game as a five-year-old, in 2005.

91裸聊视频淗e was just excelling, and loved it,91裸聊视频� Carola recalled. 91裸聊视频淪o this was in Grade 11, when universities had approached him already, about going to this place or that place, so he said he would make his decision after playing in the Canada Games that August, with Team BC.

91裸聊视频淲e were talking about it, all three of us,91裸聊视频� she said, gesturing toward her husband, her eyes dewy.

91裸聊视频淗e never got to make the decision.91裸聊视频�

Carola stopped talking, for a brief moment of silence in the conversation.

In the distance, a siren.

91裸聊视频淒o you hear that?91裸聊视频� she asked. 91裸聊视频淵ou probably don91裸聊视频檛 hear those sirens right now,91裸聊视频� she continued, 91裸聊视频渂ut you have no idea what we91裸聊视频檙e going through. I hear them and I91裸聊视频檓 right back there, on that day it happened. I hear them every day.91裸聊视频�

Cigarette in hand, Miki nodded in agreement.

91裸聊视频淚 even asked the police to stop using their sirens around here, because I just can91裸聊视频檛 hear them,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚 know they can91裸聊视频檛 do that, but it just drives me nuts.91裸聊视频�

Back to the subject of Travis and soccer, his parents say he did not see himself playing pro.

91裸聊视频淗e didn91裸聊视频檛 talk about it, no,91裸聊视频� Miki related. 91裸聊视频淎nd I think he was a better baseball player than a soccer player, but soccer was a better opportunity at the time, and for me it was a way for him to get into scholarships, an education, and he knew education came first, too. Soccer was a way for him to get that.91裸聊视频�

Carola said Travis was working hard to graduate several months early, in January of 2018.

91裸聊视频淲e didn91裸聊视频檛 know which university he91裸聊视频檇 go to,91裸聊视频� she said, 91裸聊视频渂ut we wanted to keep him in Canada, and maybe that was going to be back east somewhere.91裸聊视频�

He wanted to be in business, or accounting.

91裸聊视频淗e loved money,91裸聊视频� Sara added with a smile. 91裸聊视频淗e had options. He was really smart.91裸聊视频�

With the help of Suomi and others, the local soccer community will come together on June 2 for the inaugural TS3 Inspires tournament, created as a fun-filled day for preteen players on 80 teams to celebrate Travis91裸聊视频� life, in a six-on-six format.

Naturally, the games will be played at Cloverdale Athletic Park, the place where Travis spent his final hour conscious.

91裸聊视频淪urrey United approached us that they wanted to do a tournament in Travis91裸聊视频� name, and we never thought something like that would happen, and so fast,91裸聊视频� Carola explained. 91裸聊视频淪o they took it in their own hands, with people91裸聊视频檚 help 91裸聊视频� so many volunteers and great people, and the community just wants to help and contribute and honour Travis, and that is so touching.

91裸聊视频淔rom the day this happened,91裸聊视频� she added, 91裸聊视频渨e91裸聊视频檝e had overwhelming support from people, some we didn91裸聊视频檛 even know, with flowers and cards, letters. We want to thank everyone.91裸聊视频� We didn91裸聊视频檛 even know how to get through a day, the next minute, nothing, without our friends.91裸聊视频�

PHOTO: Framed photos of Travis Selje and other items fill the top of a dresser in his bedroom. (Photo: Tom Zillich)

includes several tributes to Travis written by former coaches and others who remember watching him play soccer, including Jeff Clarke, Surrey United91裸聊视频檚 technical director.

91裸聊视频淗e was a champion and true competitor and a kid that truly loved every second of his sports experiences,91裸聊视频� Clarke wrote. 91裸聊视频淪urrey United SC celebrated all of his successes in his teenage years with Whitecaps FC and were proud to see him return to SUSC at U17. In the short period that he returned to the club before his tragic passing, Travis inspired his 2000 (birth year) teammates and many of the young players that emulated him in the club. He also set a standard of being a great teammate and competitor that will influence SUSC teams and players positively for years to come.91裸聊视频�

The website also includes video of Travis in action on the soccer pitch.

91裸聊视频淎 player he had some good battles with, his dad always shot video of the games, of his son playing 91裸聊视频� every single game,91裸聊视频� Miki explained. 91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e from Coquitlam, and he put that together and gave it to me. He went though every video he had and picked out highlights of Travis playing.91裸聊视频�

With Surrey United91裸聊视频檚 BCSPL team in his final season, Travis wore #3, so the TS3 Inspires tournament name is combination of his initials and his jersey number.

Travis was born on March 5, 2000, and his jersey with the Whitecaps youth program was #35, a representation of his birth month and day. That Whitecaps jersey number, with the word 91裸聊视频淪elje91裸聊视频� above it, is tattooed on Miki91裸聊视频檚 back, life-sized and in the same font.

Fighting tears while standing outside his son91裸聊视频檚 bedroom, Miki pulled up his shirt to reveal the breathtaking artwork.

91裸聊视频淥n jersey day or whatever, people ask where mine is. Well, it91裸聊视频檚 always with me, right there on my back.91裸聊视频�

tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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