by John Sucansky
Thisweek Newspapers

It was supposed to be a weekend of fun visiting the family in North Dakota, but before it even began, the Bergum family of Lakeville had lost a father and daughter and a son remains in a drug-induced coma in the hospital.

James Bergum, 46, was driving the family to the Grand Forks area in a 1999 Chevy Suburban when another vehicle crossed the median along I-494 in Eden Prairie and ended the trip with horrific crash the evening of May 26.

At approximately 6:15 p.m., a Chevy Tahoe, driven by Zachary Shimp, 33, of Deephaven, Minn., lost control in the southbound lanes of I-494 while pulling a camper trailer. Shimp's vehicle jumped the concrete barrier and hit the Bergum's Suburban while airborne.

The Bergum family's pastor at Eden Baptist Church in Savage, Jon Pratt, said the accident happened so quickly the airbags didn't even deploy.

James was killed instantly in the crash, along with his daughter Grace, 17. Injured in the accident were Jacob Bergum, 15, who remains in the hospital, Katie Bergum, 19, and her mother Geralynn, 46 who received non-life threatening injuries.

Geralynn, according to Pratt, was the only one in the vehicle that was able to walk away from the crash.

In the other vehicle, Kerri Shimp, 34, was injured along with Kane Shimp, age 1, Elliet Shimp, 4, Natalie Shimp, 8 and Elizabeth Shimp, 11.

The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating the cause of the accident and Lt. Mark Peterson with the State Patrol said the results would take several weeks to complete.

James and Geralynn had been married 25 years in February and made Lakeville their home 20 years ago, according to Pratt. The family was very active with Eden Baptist Church with the children participating in the church's youth group and ministry trips and the family participating in home Bible study groups.

Grace and Jacob had planned on traveling to Alaska in July on a mission trip, said Pratt and the children were involved every summer with the ministry trips. May was also Grace's month to help with the children's church ministry where younger children learn about the church's worship service. Pratt said the church's teens would rotate on a monthly basis to help with this program.

Grace, a senior at Lakeville North High School, was also active in the marching band as a clarinet player. She was also employed at the Lakeville Rainbow Foods where a memorial fund has been established at the store's Guarantee Bank in her name.

James was a longtime and dedicated employee of the Lockheed-Martin Corporation where he served as a computer systems integration engineer working with military applications. He was recently awarded the corporation's 2006 Award of Excellence for his contribution on an international C4ISR initiative.

Pratt said for those looking to donate to help offset the cost of Jacob's hospital care or in memory of James and Grace, they should contact the church at (952) 890-5856 or visit the church's Web site at www.edenbaptist.org.

There is also a phone message on the church's line updating callers on Jacob's condition and this information is also available on the Web site.

Grace and James' obituaries can be found on the announcements page in the today's edition.

John Sucansky is at lakeville.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

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