Jensen, a 2000 graduate of Nevada High School, was killed this week in Hamilton County.
Lt. Kelly Hindman, district commander of the Highway Patrol Office out of Fort Dodge, said officials don't know the exact time that the accident occurred. Jensen's vehicle, a 1985 Chevrolet Corvette, was discovered around 6:15 a.m. Tuesday, April 29, along county road D41, approximately two miles east of I-35. The location, Hindman said, is about eight miles north/northeast of Ellsworth.
"At this point, basically, we don't have a lot (of information)," Hindman said. "We don't know what time the collision happened for sure. It was discovered at 6:15, and because the windows (of the car) were frosted over, it must have happened in the middle of the night."
Hindman said they also have no information on what caused the vehicle to go off the road. Officials do not believe the road was slick that night. "We know the vehicle drifted off to the shoulder on the side it was traveling, and then (the driver) overcorrected. Then the vehicle slid sideways across the road into the opposite ditch and rolled several times." Hindman said both Jensen and another person in the vehicle, Karl Satre, 22, of Ames, were ejected. Hindman said while the car was registered to Jensen, officials still aren't sure which person in the vehicle was driving at the time of the accident.
He said both subjects are currently undergoing autopsies at the state laboratory in Ankeny. When more details of the incident are known, Hindman said an update will be listed on the following Web site: www.dps.state.is.us/isp under "crash reports."
Back home, news spread around Nevada about the death of Jensen. Jessica Milleson, who graduated in 2003, said a bunch of people were calling her to see if she knew, and she said she called others to give them the terrible news. People were "very, very shocked," she said. "A lot of people knew him, even though he had lost contact (with some of his high school friends)."
Milleson, who dated Jensen when he was a senior and she was a freshman, said she remembers Jensen as a really good friend to everyone.
Murray, who said several times that Jensen was a great kid, remembers that Jensen was a quiet kid. "I knew him well. He graduated with my son. He did a great job for us around here. He had friends who talked a lot, but he never said too much."
In his graduation block in the 2000 Nevada Journals graduating seniors section, Jensen listed his activities as "FFA."
FFA advisor Kevin Cooper said Jensen was an active member of FFA when he was in high school. "I have pictures of him working with FFA contests. He always had a positive attitude and enjoyed school. He also enjoyed being with friends."
Cooper and Murray agreed that news of a former student dying is never an easy thing to take. "It's too bad ... at such a young age, with so much potential, things to look forward to ... It's never easy to see your former students leave before you do," Cooper said.
Added Murray, "You always feel bad, because you want everybody to have a full life."
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