Gianna Gasparini, the Gustavus Adolphus hockey player who was driving the car during the 2023 crash that killed teammate Jori Jones, was charged with reckless driving, a misdemeanor, on Aug. 16, 2024.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail, a $3,000 fine, or both. Gasparini did not play during the 2023-24 hockey season.
Gasparini, Jones and GAC teammates Kayla Bluhm and Lily Mortenson were returning home from a North Dakota team bonding trip when the car crashed into a van at a four-way intersection in western Minnesota. All four women were freshmen on the Gustavus Adolphus hockey team that won the NCAA Division III championship in 2023.
Only Mortenson played the 2023-24 season.
Jones died at the hospital following the crash. Her three teammates and the driver of the van, Brandi Rasmussen, suffered minor injuries.
Gasparini gave a statement to police saying that she “didn’t notice that it was a four-way intersection until way too late,” according to reports. She took a preliminary breath test that showed no trace of alcohol.
The accident occurred about 20 miles west of Willmar on Highway 40 at the intersection with Highway 29 in Grace Township, the State Patrol said.
The women’s SUV was heading east on Hwy. 40 and collided with a minivan as it headed south, the patrol said.
