Stephen Clayton was driving his family home when a wheel came loose from a trailer on the other side of the road. It crossed the median on Interstate 90 near Kimball, South Dakota, and smashed into their van. The 31-year-old pastor from Monticello, Minnesota, and his three-year-old son David did not survive.
The crash happened around 2 in the afternoon on October 12. Stephen was heading east. A pickup truck pulling a stock trailer was going west. One of the trailer’s wheels broke free, bounced over the grass strip in the middle, and tore through the van’s windshield and roof.
Katie Clayton, Stephen’s 24-year-old wife, sat in the passenger seat. She was 28 weeks pregnant. She suffered serious injuries to her face and jaw. Doctors later performed reconstructive surgery. Their 11-month-old son John had only minor injuries. The unborn baby is doing okay.
Everyone in the van had their seatbelts on. The driver of the pickup was not hurt. South Dakota Highway Patrol is still looking into exactly how the wheel came off.
Stephen served as pastor at Becker Evangelical Free Church. He graduated from Bethlehem College and Seminary. Katie studied there too. Friends say he worked hard at preaching and caring for people in his church.
The family had been visiting Katie’s parents in Spearfish and were on their way back to Minnesota. Now Katie faces a long recovery while caring for John and the baby on the way.
People who knew Stephen talk about his steady faith and quiet kindness. A funeral service is set for October 23 at The North Church in Mounds View, Minnesota.
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