Five Missionaries Killed in Car Crashes

In January, car accidents took the lives of five missionaries: a sister missionary serving in the North Carolina Raleigh Mission and four elders serving in the Iowa Des Moines Mission.

On 21 January, Sister Melissa Peterson, 22, of Snowflake, Arizona, was killed when a truck struck the rear of the car in which she was riding. The car had stopped to allow a funeral cortege to pass. Sister Peterson would have completed her mission in March. Elder Rex D. Pinegar of the Seventy, President of the North America Southwest Area, spoke at her funeral, which was held in Snowflake on 27 January.

On 28 January, four elders in the Iowa Des Moines Mission were killed when their car collided with another vehicle whose occupant, Herman Heckathorn, 90, of Murray, Iowa, was also killed. The four elders, all from Utah, were Daniel Byrne Roundy, 19, of Kaysville; Jared Mont Pulham, 20, of Alpine; Jaysen Ray Christiansen, 20, of Harrisville; and Bradley Alan Savage, 20, of Lehi. The First Presidency issued a message of condolence to the families and loved ones, and individual members of the First Presidency attended the funerals.