NCAA Champion Jori Jones Dead at 19

Jori Jones was a hockey player from Gustavus Adolphus College.

By Brian Jones

Jori Jones, a member of the Gustavus Adolphus College hockey team, has died after suffering injuries in a car accident in Minnesota, PEOPLE reports. She was 19 years old. Jones was with three other members of the hockey team at the time of the accident that happened on Sunday afternoon west of Wilmar, Minnesota. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, the car with the four hockey players collided with another vehicle. The three other women, driver Gianna Gasparini, 19, Kayla Bluhm, 20, and Lily Mortenson, 19, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, as did the driver of the other car, a 28-year-old woman, according to CBS News.

Gustavus Adolphus College women's hockey head coach Mike Carroll told the Star Tribune that the group was traveling back from an offseason trip to Aberdeen, South Dakota. "There was sort of a caravan coming back," Carroll said. "One of the cars came upon the [crash] scene. They were there while the paramedics pulled the athletes out of the car. The other group heard and doubled back." According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the vehicles collided when one of the cars failed to brake at the intersection of a four-way stop. 

Jones was a goalie for Gustavus Adolphus, a Division III school based in St. Peter, Minnesota. She was on the team last year when they won the Division III national title. "You could tell her passion to be successful and to put herself in the best place to compete with all our players to make not only yourself better, but the girls on the team," Carroll said.

Jones played for the Roseville Area Youth Hockey Association where her father was a coach. "Jori was not only a talented athlete but also an extraordinary human being, both inside and out. Her infectious smile and laughter could light up any room, and her spirit was as genuine as they come. On and off the ice, she remained a beacon of leadership and positivity," RAYHA President Gretchen Hopeman told WCCO-TV.

A GoFundMe page for the Jones family has been launched by Hopeman, and over $66,000 has been raised. "We, as neighbors and hockey family from Roseville and Gustavus, are deeply saddened to share the tragic news of Jori Jones, a beloved Raider Alumni and current Gustavus Student Athlete, who tragically lost her life in a recent car accident," Hopeman wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Jori was a talented athlete and a beautiful soul, known for her infectious smile and genuine spirit."

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