Ben Carson suspended his campaign activities on Tuesday, after one campaign staffer and three volunteers were injured in a car accident in Iowa. One of the volunteers died from the injuries later Tuesday.
Braden Joplin, a 25-year-old student at Texas Tech University, died just after 4:30 p.m. at a hospital in Nebraska, according to the campaign. Earlier in the day, he was one of four people in a van that hit a patch of ice, flipped on its side and was struck by another vehicle.
Three others were taken to a hospital in Atlantic, Iowa, while Joplin was transported to the trauma center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, the campaign said. Carson canceled all his remaining campaign events Tuesday and went to Omaha to see Joplin and his family.
In a statement on Joplin’s death, Carson said he personally knew the volunteer and was “filled with a deep and profound sadness at his passing.” He called Joplin and other volunteers the “unsung heroes of the political process.”
“Even after more than 30 years experience counseling parents and family members in the most difficult of times, it never gets easier,” said Carson, a retired neurosurgeon. “But I find solace in the knowledge of God’s redeeming grace, and I pray that Braden’s family finds comfort in the mercy of the Lord.”
Rest In Peace Braden Joplin. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. pic.twitter.com/p87TCnD44p
— Ben & Candy Carson (@RealBenCarson) January 20, 2016
Carson’s rivals for the GOP presidential nomination, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, offered condolences throughout the day.
Agencies/Canadajournal