FARGO - A Fargo man who was unscathed after a double-fatal collision on a South Dakota highway in 2009 was killed over the weekend in a motorcycle crash while headed to the Daytona 500 NASCAR race.
Nicholas James Helgeson, 29, had a passion for motorcycles, and taking the trip to Daytona was "a dream come true," his obituary said.
He was riding with his stepfather from Cape Coral, Fla., to Daytona on Saturday, Feb. 25, when the crashed happened. On a two-lane highway, an oncoming driver veered into Helgeson's lane and struck him head-on, his obituary said.
Helgeson, an organ donor, died the next day with family at his side at Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford. "Nick was an exceptionally forgiving person. He would want others to look with compassion on the driver of the car that struck him - and to pray for her as they do for him," his obituary said.
On Nov. 6, 2009, Helgeson, then 22, was the driver of a jeep that collided with a pickup truck near New Effington, S.D., the Rapid City (S.D.) Journal reported.
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The 79-year-old driver and 95-year-old passenger in the pickup, both Sisseton, S.D., men, were killed. Helgeson was not hurt, and his 15-year-old passenger suffered minor injuries, the newspaper reported.
Helgeson grew up near Hankinson, N.D. He attended Hankinson High School and the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton. He worked on his family's farm and as a truck driver and heavy-equipment operator.
A visitation is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, March 6, at St. John's Catholic Church in Wahpeton, with a prayer vigil to follow. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 7, at the church. His burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Wahpeton.
