A college student has died after he and two classmates were involved in a car crash in Michigan while returning from a ski trip.
The Ontonagon County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) said the crash occurred on Highway 45 in Stannard Township on Monday, Jan. 19, according to The Minnesota Star-Tribune.
Three classmates were “returning from a ski trip in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula” when their vehicle was hit head-on by another driver, according to a message on a GoFundMe started to support the victims’ families. Their vehicle was then hit from behind by a second person, the organizer wrote.
The driver of the vehicle, Gavin, sustained “a severe shoulder injury in the crash” and his car was totaled in the collision, the organizer continued.
One passenger, Alex, was rushed by ambulance to the Ironwood hospital with internal bleeding before being airlifted to Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth. He was discharged from the hospital “after four days of intensive care,” according to the organizer.
A second passenger, however, did not survive the crash. He has been identified as Andrew Bjork, according to KJBR.
Nicknamed Drew, the 24-year-old was a 2023 graduate of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, earning a degree in exercise science, according to his obituary. Most recently, he was a physical therapy student at St. Scholastica College in Duluth.
The college said all three men who were in the crash were second-year students in its Doctorate of Physical Therapy program, according to the Star-Tribune.
Bjork was described in the obituary as “a young man of faith” and “friend to many” as well as “an avid sports fan, and outdoor enthusiast,” who “lived his short life to the fullest each day.”
“Drew will be missed dearly,” read a message on the GoFundMe. “He was an amazing and supportive friend who was loved by all.”
More than $23,000 has been raised through the online fundraiser as of midday Tuesday, Jan. 27.
Services for Bjork will be held on Saturday, Jan. 31, at Bethel Lutheran Church Highlands in Hudson, Wisc., according to his obituary. His family has requested that attendees wear their favorite sports jersey or team attire.
