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State Patrol: Gustavus hockey player ‘failed to stop’ at intersection, causing crash that killed teammate

nick ferraro, pioneer press
·3 min read
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The two-vehicle crash that killed a 19-year-old Gustavus Adolphus hockey player from Little Canada on Sunday was caused when her teammate failed to obey a stop sign, the State Patrol says in a search warrant affidavit.

Jori Lynn Jones was killed and three of her college teammates were injured in the crash, which happened about 12:40 p.m. at an intersection in Grace Township, about 25 miles west of Willmar in west-central Minnesota.

Jones, who was a passenger, died at Montevideo Hospital, where her teammates Kayla Marie Bluhm, 20, of Chisago City, Gianna Kate Gasparini, 19, of Lakeville and Lily Kay Mortenson, 19, of Champlin were taken with injuries not considered life-threatening, the State Patrol said.

According to the State Patrol’s initial report, Gasparini was driving a Chevrolet Equinox east on Minnesota 40, while the other driver, Brandi Kay Rasmussen, 28, of Benson, Minn., was in a Dodge Caravan minivan headed south on Minnesota 29.

The search warrant affidavit filed Thursday in Chippewa County District Court says evidence at the scene and information from witnesses indicated the driver of the Equinox “failed to stop at the intersection.”

“The Grand Caravan had just stopped at the 4-way stop … and begun to continue south when it was struck by the eastbound Equinox,” the search warrant affidavit says.

The State Patrol had previously said that one of the drivers failed to stop at a stop sign, but did not specify which one.

Rasmussen was also hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening. She had no passengers.

State Patrol Sgt. Corey Sik filed the search warrant affidavit to ask a judge for permission to analyze data recorded by the minivan’s airbag modular.

“The data is important in the investigation of this crash in determining contributing factors such as speed, braking, engine RPMs and throttle position as well as other vehicle diagnostics,” the documents says.

The speed limit in the area is 60 mph.

The State Patrol previously said that alcohol was not a factor in the crash, and that all five women were wearing seatbelts.

Hockey community in mourning

At the time of the crash, the hockey players were returning home from South Dakota after a weekend trip with other teammates, their coach, Mike Carroll, said Monday.

Jones was a freshman goaltender on last season’s Gustavus team that won the college’s first NCAA Division III national championship in March. She had played youth and high school hockey in Roseville.

Bluhm played high school hockey at Chisago Lakes, Gasparini at Lakeville North and Mortenson at Benilde-St. Margaret’s in St. Louis Park.

Gasparini could not be reached for comment Friday.

Gasparini is a granddaughter of John “Gino” Gasparini, the former University of North Dakota men’s hockey coach whose teams won three NCAA championships in the 1980s. Her father, Tony Gasparini, is general manager of the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League. He was a goalie at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the mid- to late-90s.

Jones’ death has reverberated throughout the state’s hockey community, with support coming from dozens of organizations and teams of all levels. The Minnesota Wild has two goalie sticks placed in front of the team’s locker room doors “to honor Jones, her family, the Roseville hockey community, and the Gustavus community,” a social-media post reads.

A GoFundMe page for the Jones family has raised more than $107,000 as of Friday morning.

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