A Gustavus Adolphus hockey player was put on probation for one year Monday for causing a two-vehicle crash that killed her 19-year-old passenger and teammate last year in west-central Minnesota.

Gianna Kate Gasparini, 20, of Lakeville, pleaded guilty Monday in Chippewa County District Court to a gross misdemeanor reckless driving charge in connection with the crash, which killed Jori Lynn Jones, of Little Canada. Gasparini was sentenced to a stay of adjudication, meaning if she successfully completes probation the charge will be dismissed and she won’t have the conviction on her criminal record.

Gasparini’s attorney, Eric Nelson, did not return a call Monday for comment.

According to the criminal complaint filed in August, an accident reconstruction report by the Minnesota State Patrol indicates the collision was caused by Gasparini speeding in her Chevrolet Equinox sport-utility vehicle and running a four-way stop sign at the intersection of Minnesota Highways 40 and 29 in Grace Township, 25 miles west of Willmar, about 12:40 p.m. Aug. 20, 2023.

Jones was pronounced dead an hour later at Montevideo Hospital, where Gasparini and two other teammates and passengers — Kayla Marie Bluhm, of Chisago City, and Lily Kay Mortenson, of Champlin — were also taken with injuries not considered life-threatening. The teammates were returning to St. Peter from a weekend trip to Aberdeen, S.D.

The other driver, Brandi Kay Rasmussen, 28, of Benson, Minn., was also hospitalized with minor injuries. She had no passengers in her vehicle.

Two search warrant affidavits filed four days after the crash said evidence at the scene and information from witnesses indicated the driver of the Equinox “failed to stop at the intersection.”

‘Tried to hit my brakes’

According to the complaint, Rasmussen told the State Patrol at the crash scene she had looked both ways after stopping her Dodge minivan at the intersection.

“I didn’t see anything and then I went and all of a sudden, I’m just turning over and turning over and turning over,” Rasmussen told a trooper, according to the complaint.

A witness told the State Patrol the minivan had stopped at the intersection and proceeded to head south on Minnesota 29 when the collision occurred. The SUV was headed east on Minnesota 40 and did not stop and appeared to be going at least 60 mph, according to the witness.

The speed limit in the area is 60 mph.

The accident reconstruction found Gasparini was traveling at 78 mph prior to the crash and struck the minivan at 55 to 65 mph.

In an interview at the hospital, Gasparini told an investigator that she was going about 68 mph and did not notice it was a four-way intersection “until way too late.” She said Mortenson, her front seat passenger, told her there was a stop sign and that she “freaked and tried to hit my brakes.”

Gasparini had no alcohol in her system, and was not distracted by her cellphone at the time of the accident, according to the complaint. She told the investigator she had not taken her medication for ADHD that morning, which she said helps her better focus.

Hockey community mourns

Jones had been a freshman goalie on the Gustavus team that won the college’s first NCAA Division III national championship five months earlier. She had played youth and high school hockey in Roseville.

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Gasparini and Mortenson are junior forwards this season for Gustavus, while Bluhm is no longer with the team.

Gasparini is a granddaughter of John “Gino” Gasparini, the former University of North Dakota men’s hockey coach whose teams won three NCAA championships in the 1980s. Her father, Tony Gasparini, is general manager of the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League. He was a goalie at the University of Minnesota Duluth in the mid- to late-90s.

Jones’ death reverberated throughout the state’s hockey community, with support coming from dozens of organizations and teams of all levels. The Minnesota Wild placed two goalie sticks in front of the team’s locker room doors “to honor Jones, her family, the Roseville hockey community, and the Gustavus community,” a social media post said.

A GoFundMe page for the Jones family has raised more than $125,000. The page says Jones was “a talented athlete and a beautiful soul, known for her infectious smile and genuine spirit.”