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Three St. Olaf students die, two injured in head-on collision

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March 18, 2001

Three St. Olaf sophomores were killed early Saturday, when the car they were driving was struck by a vehicle going the wrong way south of Springfield, Ill.

Christopher A. Hoppe, 19, of Milford, Mass.; Sarah "Sally" R. Heitman, 20, of O'Fallon, Ill., and Anna K. Bonde, 19, of Livonia, Mich., were traveling to New Orleans for Spring Break. They planned to visit the grandmother of one of the students and to volunteer at an elementary school.

Two other students in the car were injured. Ethan Steinkraus, 19, of Wayzata, and Nick Brown, 20, of Helena, Mont., were taken to St. John's Hospital in Springfield. Steinkraus was released Sunday; Brown remained there in serious condition.

St. Olaf President Christopher Thomforde said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone touched by the loss of these three wonderful people. This is a terrible time for all of us in the St. Olaf community. One way for us to deal with our grief is to do everything we can to help families and friends deal with their loss."

Dean of Students Greg Kneser added, "Anna, Sally and Chris were wonderful contributors to the St. Olaf community and to our greater society. It speaks volumes that they were going to be volunteering in a New Orleans elementary school as a part of their Spring Break. We will miss them greatly."

Authorities said that the students had not been drinking. They had switched drivers every two hours and all were wearing seat belts. Criminal charges could be filed against the wrong-way driver.

As funeral arrangements are being made by the families, the St. Olaf campus is planning a memorial service to be scheduled sometime after students return from spring break. Classes resume one week from today. Details about the memorial service will be posted to this web site, and sent out to faculty, staff and students via e-mail.

Contact Dave Neuger at 507-786-3315 or neuger@stolaf.edu.