Beltrami County community rallies to aid family after fatal crash

Neighbors are stepping in after a rollover crash at County Roads 7 and 44 in Fairhaven Township killed 56-year-old Tina Timmers of St. Augusta and injured four other members of the same family. The wreck happened about 7:20 p.m. on April 12, leaving the Timmers family facing medical bills, trauma and funeral arrangements at the same time.

Investigators said 16-year-old Gavin Timmers was driving a 2022 Ford Expedition westbound on County Road 44 when it entered the intersection and collided with a northbound pickup driven by 42-year-old Katie Payne of Maple Lake. The SUV rolled after impact. Tina Timmers died at the scene despite life-saving efforts, and the sheriff’s office said the crash remains under investigation. The intersection sits on the north side of Fairhaven Townsite, roughly 16 miles south of St. Cloud.

The Expedition carried five passengers, and four other family members were taken to St. Cloud Hospital with injuries ranging from serious to other reported injuries. Those identified in coverage were Ehren Timmers, Grant Timmers, Patrick Ternes and Gavin Timmers. The crash has turned an ordinary county-road intersection into the center of a wrenching family emergency, with investigators still piecing together how the westbound SUV entered the crossing.

Community support has moved quickly. A GoFundMe set up on behalf of Brooke Smith, Tina Timmers’ daughter, is raising money for medical costs, trauma and recovery. Tina Timmers’ obituary says she was born July 18, 1969, in Dickinson, North Dakota, grew up in Marshall and is survived by her husband, Ehren; children Brooke Smith, Bailey Katzmarek, Grant and Gavin; four grandchildren; her mother, Barbara Myrida; father, Patrick Ternes; brother, Todd Ternes; and sister, Elizabeth Garza.

Visitation for Tina Timmers was scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, at Benson Funeral Home in St. Cloud, with burial set for Thursday, April 23, at Assumption Cemetery. For the family, the days ahead now include hospital recovery, funeral service and the long aftermath of a crash that changed one St. Augusta household in a matter of seconds.