Moose Lake student killed in crash

A 17-year-old Kettle River boy was killed last weekend after the Jeep he was driving crossed the centerline and collided with another vehicle.

Sebastien Jakob Blondo was traveling east on Minnesota Highway 210 outside Aitkin when the crash occurred shortly after 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, a Minnesota State Patrol news release said.

The driver of the other vehicle, Curtis Dean Watson, 75, of Aitkin, was taken by helicopter to St. Cloud Hospital with life-threatening injuries. The hospital did not respond to an inquiry about Watson’s condition.

Blondo would have been a junior this year at Moose Lake High School, where he was an active participant in the performing arts.

“This loss will be greatly felt by our school community,” Superintendent Billie Jo Steen said. “Sebastian was a kind soul, who had a gift for connecting with others.”

Steen added that Blondo was active at Hope Lutheran Church in Moose Lake. Congregants and classmates gathered Sunday for a vigil to share their memories of him.

“They shared stories of how Sebastian impacted their life,” said Steen.

In addition to drama, choir and band, Blondo was a regular greeter of new people when they came into the school, and was always asking others, “Can I help you with that?”

“He had a servant’s heart,” Steen said.

Blondo’s sudden passing is the second fatality this summer to impact Moose Lake High School, which lost Chad Beal, 14, in a fire at his family’s home in June. A Sturgeon Lake resident, Beal would have been a ninth grader.

Steen said the school’s crisis team is meeting to plan how to support grief-stricken students returning to school next month.

According to the State Patrol report, Blondo’s 1995 Jeep collided in the westbound lane with a 2008 Lincoln MKX driven by Watson, who was headed west on Highway 210 near County Road 32 in Rabbit Lake Township.

Blondo was pronounced dead at the scene. Alcohol was not a factor in the morning crash, and both drivers were wearing their seatbelts, the State Patrol said. Road conditions were wet, the State Patrol said.

The Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office, Deerwood Fire Department, Ramsey County Medical Examiner and Life Link joined the State Patrol in responding to the crash.