SALT LAKE CITY — Officials with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said a senior missionary has died of injuries after a crash in California that killed his wife over the weekend.
Church spokesman Sam Penrod said Elder Paul Hardin sustained critical injuries and was hospitalized after the crash on Saturday evening. He died on Monday at a California hospital.
His wife, 65-year-old Sister Mary Hardin, died at the scene of the incident in Fresno.
Penrod said she and Elder Hardin, both from San Antonio, Texas, had been serving together in the California Fresno Mission since January.
Law enforcement told church leaders that the crash was caused by an impaired driver who struck the Hardin’s vehicle at a high rate of speed while they were stopped at a red light.
Penrod stated “Our deepest sympathies and condolences go to the Hardin family with the tragic loss of these faithful missionaries. We pray that all who are mourning will be blessed with strength and comforted in their faith in the Savior Jesus Christ.”