Auto accidents in Iowa, N.C., claim lives of five missionaries
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Four missionaries serving in the Iowa Des Moines Mission were killed in a two-car accident Jan. 28, while traveling Highway 34 near Murray, in southwest Iowa, after returning from a missionary satellite broadcast.
Killed were:
Elder Jaysen Ray Christiansen, 20, of the Harrisville 5th Ward in Harrisville, Utah, the son of Mickel Ray and Peggy Jean Christiansen; Elder Jared Mont Pulham, 20, of the Alpine Cove Ward in Alpine, Utah, the son of Brian and Cherie Pulham; Elder Daniel Byrne Roundy, 19, of the Kaysville 4th Ward in Kaysville, Utah, the son of Steven and Neka Roundy; and Elder Bradley Alan Savage, 20, of the Lehi 17th Ward in Lehi, Utah, the son of Conrad "Pete" and Keri Savage.
Funeral services for Elder Savage were to be held Thursday, Feb. 3, and
to be held for the other missionaries on Friday, Feb. 4 in their respective
wards.
The missionaries were returning home after a satellite broadcast Friday afternoon when the driver attempted to pass another vehicle and lost control. The auto zig-zagged across the two-lane highway and was hit broadside by an oncoming pick-up. The driver of the pickup truck, Herman Heckathorn, 90, also died in the collision in which both vehicles burst into flames.
In another accident that occurred a week earlier
on Jan. 21, Sister Melissa Peterson, 22, of the Snowflake 1st Ward in
Snowflake, Ariz., who was serving in the North Carolina Raleigh Mission,
was killed when a truck struck the back of the car in which she was riding.
The car had stopped for the passing of a funeral cortege.
Her funeral was held Jan. 27 in Snowflake. Her parents, Fred and Elise
Peterson, plan to travel to North Carolina on March 24, her planned release
date, to meet with members and non-members who were acquainted with their
daughter.
