College student dies of injuries suffered in head-on crash

Joshua Baldwin was headed back to school after doing a good deed. Two passengers still hospitalized.

By VINCE TUSS, Star Tribune

Last update: October 27, 2009 - 5:17 AM

Joshua Baldwin died as he lived: helping other people.

The 20-year-old Southwest Minnesota State University student from Montevideo, Minn., died Saturday at Hennepin County Medical Center. He had been injured in a head-on crash Oct. 20 on Hwy. 212 in Renville County.

Baldwin and two others were heading back to school from Plymouth, where they had taken a disabled student home for a school break, said Baldwin's mother, Wendy Russell, of Northfield, Minn.

They were about 30 minutes from finishing their round trip when the 1996 Ford Taurus they were riding in collided with a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck shortly after midnight.

According to the State Patrol, Baldwin's vehicle was traveling west when the crash occurred on the shoulder of the westbound lane. Russell said Baldwin and the others were trying to avoid the truck at the time of the crash.

"It's really a tragic but heroic story," Russell said.

The crash is still under investigation, said State Patrol Lt. Matt Langer.

After the crash, Baldwin was taken to Granite Falls Hospital and was later airlifted to HCMC. He suffered severe brain injuries in the crash, his mother said, but his heart and other organs were able to be donated.

The others in the car with Baldwin were David Kriesel, 20, of Glenwood, and Haley Schwenk, 17, of Appleton. They were airlifted from the accident to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale. Kriesel was listed in critical condition on Monday and Schwenk in serious condition. Russell said friends from school had been going back and forth between the hospitals to be with the three injured students.

The driver of the Silverado, Douglas Folkens, 55, of Hector, had minor injuries, according to the State Patrol.

Baldwin was the only one not wearing a seat belt, according to his mother. She said that was extremely unusual and the reason for his severe brain injuries.

"Josh not only was a seat-belt wearer, he was a seat-belt enforcer," Russell said.

Vince Tuss • 612-673-7692