Beloved Minnesota pastor, 3-year-old son killed in accident
A well-loved Minnesota pastor and his 3-year-old son were killed when a tire came off a trailer on a South Dakota interstate and hit the family’s minivan, according to reports.
The pastor was Stephen Clayton, 31, who served at Becker Evangelical Free Church in Minnesota. He and his son, David, died on Oct. 12 as the family drove home to Monticello after a visit with the parents of his wife, Katie, in Spearfish, South Dakota, Bring Me the News reported. Clayton was driving the van, the South Dakota Department of Public Safety said.
A 2012 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup was towing a stock trailer west on Interstate 90, about 8 miles east of Kimball, at around 2 p.m. when one of the trailer’s tires broke loose and crossed into the eastbound lanes, according to Madison Daily Leader. The tire then hit the family’s 2015 Honda Odyssey in Brule County.
The tire went over the median, broke the windshield and tore open the roof of the van, according to a GoFundMe crowdfunding page set up for the family.
Katie Clayton was flown to a hospital in Sioux Falls with fractures to her face and jaw. She has since had reconstructive surgery, and the page said she faces a long recovery.
The couple’s younger son, John, who is 11 months old, had minor injuries, according to the Department of Public Safety. The fundraiser says he and Katie's preborn baby were unharmed.
The 54-year-old driver of the pickup, from the town of Plankinton, was not hurt.
Everyone in both vehicles wore seat belts.
The Department of Public Safety said its inquiry was still open.
Steven Lee, pastor for preaching and vision at The North Church in Mounds View, Minnesota, and a trustee of Bethlehem College and Seminary, wrote in a tribute that many people loved Clayton.
Lee said he learned of the crash the day it happened and was heartbroken.
Katie Clayton was 28 weeks pregnant at the time, Lee wrote. He said he had counseled the couple before they married and had officiated their wedding ceremony in South Dakota in 2022.
Clayton worked as Lee’s ministry assistant at The North Church for three years while Lee was a seminary student, and the two men met almost every other week during that time.
Clayton earned his degree from Bethlehem Seminary in Minneapolis and started at the Becker church in 2024.
Lee wrote that Clayton was humble, thoughtful and keen to keep learning, and that he had once played in a professional orchestra in Canada and never boasted of it. He said Clayton stayed steady through hard stretches after the couple had children and grew more patient as a pastor.
The two men last had lunch together on May 7, when Clayton talked about the good and hard parts of his church work, Lee wrote.
“We have lost a good man this week,” Lee wrote, adding that Clayton had been a pastor, husband, father, son and friend. He asked readers to pray for Katie, John and the wider family.
The crowdfunding page, organized by David Stabley, has drawn over $230,000 in donations. The funds collected will go toward funeral expenses, medical bills and the family's ongoing recovery expenses.
The North Church in Mounds View will hold a funeral for the father and son on Friday.
