An NIU student died of injuries suffered from a single vehicle crash in Hayward, Wis. Sunday.

The Sawyer County Sheriff’s Department was notified at 7:30 a.m. Monday that Alexander M. Hartung, 21, died from injuries received in the crash, according to a Tuesday press release from the office.

Paul M. Mesher, 23, of Arlington Heights and NIU student Mark A. Rhine, 22, of Buffalo Grove, also suffered injuries, the report said.

According to the report, the vehicle, a 1995 Dodge Intrepid, was traveling at “a high rate of speed” eastbound on County Road K, located in far northwest Wisconsin, when the driver, Rhine, lost control and hit a tree causing severe damage to the car.

Terrell Boettcher, news editor of the Sawyer County Record, said he saw medical personnel tending to the victims, and saw one airlifted to a nearby hospital. The Sawyer County Record reported that the three men were trapped in the vehicle and had to be extricated from the car by firefighters and EMTs.

Sheriff James Meier, speaking to the Sawyer County Record, said they believed that speed and alcohol contributed to the accident, which is still under investigation.

Tara Milton, secretary for Promod Vohra, dean of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, said the college held a memorial service for Hartung Tuesday afternoon after learning about his death.

According to his Facebook page, Hartung graduated from Stevenson High School in 2005 and was a mechanical engineering major. Vohra said the college is coping with a tremendous loss.
“Alex was a great student,” he said. “He was a student leader and mentor and was always smiling.”

Hartung was active in the college and had recently completed a study abroad trip to China. Vohra also said he had spoken with Hartung’s father, who was thankful for the support and compassion that he had received from the NIU community.

“Alex’s legacy will live on through his engineering teammates,” Vohra said. “They are participating in a competition at the end of the year in his honor.”

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