The son of a former president of Black Hills State University is one of the three men who died Tuesday after the Maserati they were in rear-ended a semi on Interstate-90 near Sturgis.

Thomas ?TJ? Jackson, a 22-year-old from Spearfish, died in the crash, according to a Friday news release from the Department of Public Safety. The other victims are 21-year-old Jaden Olson from Rapid City and 55-year-old Titus Ironshield from Cannon Ball, North Dakota.

Olson was the owner and driver of the 2015 Maserati Ghibli, according to DPS spokesman Tony Mangan. Jackson and Ironshield were his passengers.

Olson rear ended the semi at 2 p.m. on mile marker 25 of I-90, five miles west of Sturgis, according to DPS. All three were wearing their seat belts and died at the scene. The 77-year-old male semi driver and his 74-year-old female passenger were uninjured.
fatal on I-90

Law enforcement investigates the scene of an crash that killed three men Tuesday on Interstate 90.

Jackson is the son of Tom Jackson, a former BHSU president, and his wife Mona Kumar Jackson, according to BHSU spokeswoman Corinne Hansen. Jackson attended BHSU during the 2016-2017 school year but was not currently enrolled.

?We are very sorry and send our sincere sympathy to the family,? Hansen said Friday.

Tom Jackson served as president of BHSU from 2014 until June 2019 when he became president of Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. He?s taking a leave of absence due to his son's death, according to a Friday article by KRCR News.

Jackson ?was loved by many for his sincere heart, multitude of talents and sense of adventure,? according to his obituary. He was a ?free flying spirit,? according to a GoFundMe created by a friend that has a photograph of Jackson celebrating after rock climbing to the top of a peak.

Thomas "TJ" Jackson celebrates after climbing to the top of a peak.

Jackson?s family created an award in his memory for BHSU creative photography students, according to KRCR. He had one sister, according to a Wednesday article in the Lost Coast Outpost.

Olson ?was a kind soul, with quick wit, outgoing personality and a love of adventure,? according to his obituary. ?Love and compassion came naturally to Jaden, whether you were a lifelong friend, acquaintance or a stranger on the street, he was always ready and willing to lend a hand in any way he could.?

The 2017 Stevens High School graduate is the son of Adam and Jessica Olson. Olson had a younger sister and worked with his father at Olson Construction.

Olson loved sports and the outdoors, according to his obituary. He played hockey and lacrosse and enjoyed BMX biking, riding a dirt motorcycle, and driving his Harley Davidson. Olson was also a traveler, hiker, rock climber and snowboarder.

Olson was a hard worker and always made others smile, two friends wrote on a GoFundMe page.

"Titus will be missed and forever in our hearts," Ironshield's loved ones wrote in his obituary.

Ironshield earned his GED certificate, participated in the Box Elder Job Corps, supported himself by working various jobs, and traveled all over the place.

Before the crash

People driving on I-90 near Spearfish called 911 soon before the fatal wreck to say they were afraid a speeding Maserati was going to crash, according to Pat Rotert, the city?s public safety director. Before that, three men were seen leaving BHSU in a Maserti after two young men tried to enter a campus apartment.

Law enforcement later realized that the Maserati and three men reported in those two incidents were the same vehicle and victims in the fatal crash, Rotert and Phil Peshek, director of campus safety, said Friday.

Students at the Yellow Jacket Apartments called to report that two young men were yelling ?let us in? while banging on the door and window of their dorm, according to Peshek. He arrived within two minutes but the men were already gone.

?Witnesses saw the two males get into a white Maserati with a third male and it left campus property and headed back into the city of Spearfish, Peshek said.

?I honestly thought they were mistaken? when they said they saw a Maserati, he said. ?I have not seen one in the 10 years I?ve been here.?

Rotert said a Spearfish police officer also responded to the scene.

He said one of the two young men knew someone who lives in the building ? which is locked from the outside ? and was possibly trying to reach them.

?We don?t know what they were doing but one of them we know had an acquaintance there in the building that they had visited before,? Rotert said.

Rotert said he?s not sure if Jackson or Olson was the one who knew someone inside the building and what kind of relationship they had with the apartment resident. Campus safety and the Spearfish Police Department are investigating those questions along with the men?s motive in trying to enter the building.

The police officer who responded saw three men leave in the Maserati, Rotert said. Dispatch then immediately started receiving multiple calls about a Maserati driving at ?extreme high rates of speed toward Whitewood.?

Callers expressed ?concerns about how fast it was traveling and that it was going to cause an accident,? Rotert said.