St. Michael-Albertville Grad Killed in Snowmobile Crash

graduate Jason Gutzwiller died Saturday night when he collided with a tree while riding his snowmobile near Walker, MN. He was 30.

The member of the STMA Class of 1999 lived in Albany, MN with his wife, Carrie Jennissen. The couple have a daughter, Lilly, who is 9 months old.

In a tragic turn, Gutzwiller is a cousin of the late Joey Bongaarts, the STMA teen who died in a tragic ATV accident in March of 2008.

Family relatives were participating in a bowling tournament to honor Joey–the third annual celebration of his life–when Gutzwiller had his accident in northern Minnesota.

According to KSAX.com, “Authorities were called to the Heartland Trail east of Nevis at around 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

Gutzwiller was heading east on the trail when he hit a tree and was ejected from his snowmobile.

Rescue efforts failed, and Gutzwiller was pronounced dead at the scene,” according to Joe Nelson, reporter.

According to an obituary published on Miller-Carlin Funeral Home’s website, services have been set:

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 a.m., Friday, March 9, 2012, at Seven Dolors Catholic Church in Albany. There will be a visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 8,  and again one hour before the service Friday at the Miller-Carlin-Brenny Funeral Home in Albany.  Seven Dolors Parish prayers will be at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, also at the funeral home.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Jason is survived by parents Joan and Gordon Gutzwiller, Melrose; his brother, Jeffrey (Stephanie) Gutzwiller, Big Lake;  his grandparents, Gordon and Helen Bongaarts, Hanover,, and his father and mother-in-law, Paul and Doris Jennissen, Sauk Centre.