Beloved Pastor and His 3-Year-Old Son Killed in Tragic Accident

A Minnesota church community is mourning an unimaginable loss after a beloved pastor and his young son were killed in a freak highway accident.

Stephen Clayton, 31, and his 3-year-old son, David, died on Oct. 12 after a loose wheel from a trailer struck their family minivan on Interstate 90 in South Dakota, People magazine reported.

The tragedy unfolded shortly after 2 p.m. near Kimball, South Dakota, as Clayton drove eastbound with his pregnant wife, Katie, and their two young sons.

According to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, a wheel detached from a stock trailer being pulled by a Dodge Ram traveling westbound. The wheel crossed the interstate median and struck the family’s Honda Odyssey.

Stephen and David were killed in the collision. Katie suffered life-threatening injuries, while their 11-month-old son, John, sustained minor injuries. The couple’s unborn child also survived.

Two of my former @BCS_MN students were in a tragic car accident this week: Stephen Clayton (MDiv ’24) and Katie O’Shea Clayton (BA ’25). Stephen and his son David are with the Lord. Please pray for Katie and John (her 11-month-old son) and her unborn child. Here’s an opportunity to help a widow in her affliction (James 1:27):
https://t.co/PiJoBpmeuc

Stephen was one of the finest men I helped to train—above-reproach character and highly competent. He came to my home on Saturday mornings to work out probably over 100 times. (We did a lot of weighted Murphs together.) I last talked to him when he attended our church’s conference on the home nearly two months ago. He was full of joy and courage as he served as a lead pastor. He was a good man. He faithfully finished his race—far sooner than we expected.

God is meticulously sovereign over a bouncing trailer tire. I think of Sarah Edwards’s letter to her daughter Esther shortly after Jonathan Edwards died from a smallpox inoculation:

“My very dear child, What shall I say? A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. O that we may kiss the rod, and lay our hands on our mouths! The Lord has done it. He has made me adore his goodness, that we had him so long. But my God lives; and he has my heart. O what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left us! We are all given to God; and there I am, and love to be.”

— Andy Naselli (@AndyNaselli) October 15, 2026

Katie, who is expecting the family’s third child in December, suffered significant injuries to her jaw and face and has undergone reconstructive surgery, according to a tribute published by Bethlehem College and Seminary.

Authorities said the 54-year-old driver of the pickup truck was uninjured. The crash remains under investigation.

Clayton had served as pastor of Becker Evangelical Free Church in Becker, Minnesota, since 2024, and his death has left a grieving congregation without its spiritual leader, per KARE-TV.

Beyond his work at the church, Clayton was remembered as a devoted husband and father whose Christian faith shaped every aspect of his life.

In a particularly moving tribute published by Bethlehem College and Seminary, trustee and pastor Steven Lee recalled his close friendship with Clayton, whom he had mentored during his seminary years and whose wedding to Katie he officiated in 2022.

Lee remembered Clayton as a humble, thoughtful man who approached his responsibilities as a pastor and father with remarkable dedication. The two last shared lunch in May, discussing the joys and challenges of ministry and family life.

“He so deeply loved Katie, his kids, and serving the Lord,” Lee wrote. “Whenever I think of Stephen, I think, ‘He was a good man.’”

Lee also recalled that Clayton had once played in a professional orchestra in Canada, an accomplishment the young pastor apparently never felt compelled to boast about.

The loss of little David has added another heartbreaking dimension to the tragedy. His obituary, cited by People, remembered him as the “happiest little boy,” a cheerful child who loved expressing his feelings to his family.

“He would tell his mom and dad and grandparents he had a happy heart,” the obituary read. “He would say, ‘I’m happy in Jesus.’”

A GoFundMe has been established to help Katie and her surviving children with medical expenses and ongoing financial needs. Funeral services for Stephen and David were scheduled for Friday.

For those who knew Clayton, the loss extends far beyond the pulpit. As Lee wrote in his tribute, “We have lost a good man this week.”

His words reflect the grief of a community mourning not only a pastor and father, but also a little boy whose life had barely begun.

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