Former York University student killed in bus crash remembered as 'tremendous' hockey player

Among the 15 people killed in a horrific bus crash in Saskatchewan on Friday evening was former York University hockey player Mark Cross, the school said this weekend.

"York Athletics & Recreation is devastated by the news that men's hockey alumnusMark Crosswas one of the casualties in the fatal bus crash," a statement published to the university's website late Saturday night said.

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"We are extremely sad to learn that Mark was one of those who lost his life; he was a tremendous member of our family and an incredible leader in our program,"Jennifer Myers, executive director of York athletics, said in the statement.

Cross, 27, was an assistant coach with the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The team was on a buson their way to a playoff game on Friday night when the driver collided with a transport truck on Highway 35 near Tisdale, Sask. Fifteen people were killed, while several others remain critically injured.

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Cross played forward for York's men's hockey team before going to Saskatchewan. Lions coach Russ Herrington said the hours between hearing about the crash and learning of Cross's death were agonizing.

He had planned to follow the game online and was settling in to watch when news of the fatal collision broke.

"My immediate reaction was 'I hope Mark's okay, and I hope the players that we've been recruiting from Humboldt are okay,'" Herrington said in an interview from Chicago.

"I sent messages immediately to Mark and to some of the players on that Humboldt team hoping I would get a response from them and we didn't."

He stayed awake through the night awaiting any information about what happened. It was around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday when he received confirmation that Cross was killed in the crash.

"I think, like everyone in the hockey community, I was devastated when we finally confirmed that Mark was among the deceased," Herrington said.

"At the time when I first heard about the accident it was just pure shock ... I spent a lot of years on the bus going to and from hockey games and sending my kids on the bus to their athletic events and it's just the worst nightmare I can think of as a coach or parent."

Herrington describes Cross as a vibrant personality andthe kind of person parents hope their children will become.As a hockey player and an individual, Cross pushed himself to the limit, Herrington said.

"He was the guy that very quickly we identified as being the epitome of what we wanted a York Lion to be. He was a reliable, supportive teammate," Herrington said.

"The immediate thought was for his girlfriend and his parents and all his family. I really can't put into words the emotion attached to what we had to do Friday night into Saturday and even continuing into [Sunday]."

'He always had time for everyone'

Derek Sheppard, a former teammate at York, told CBC Toronto that Cross let him live in a spare room in his house when he first started at the school.

Now a player in Florida, Sheppard was on a bus himself when he got a text from a mutual friend informing him of the crash and that no one could reach Cross.

"I texted his girlfriend Molly who I was friends with as well and she said she was on her way to the hospital; and then she called me an hour later and told me that he did not make it," Sheppard said.

"It's been a tough 36 hours."

Cross was a leader who knew when to push his teammates and when someone might need help, according to Sheppard.

"One thing about Mark was that he always had time for everyone. He was the life of the party when we had them but he was also the guy that would be able to pull anyone aside and make sure they're doing alright," Sheppard said.

"He was a tremendous guy and he's going to really be missed."