GoFundMe Launched To Help Family Of Woodbury Teen Killed In Crash

WOODBURY, MN — A GoFundMe campaign was launched Tuesday to support the fiancé and 1-year-old son of a Woodbury teen who died in a fiery early morning crash in Roseville.

Mike Esler, 19, was driving home from his new job when he was killed in the crash early Tuesday morning in Roseville, according to Katie Haglund, who organized the fundraiser.

Esler’s car left the roadway on Highway 36 around 2:35 a.m. Tuesday, then flipped onto its side and caught fire, the Minnesota State Patrol said.

Esler’s fiancé, Madison Nelson, was notified by a location-sharing app that he was in a crash and rushed to the scene, Haglund told Patch on Wednesday.

“When she got there, she had to witness his car engulfed in flames and was not allowed near him,” Haglund said. “It’s been extremely difficult for her not only losing the love of her life and father of her child, but also having to witness the extent of the accident.”

Esler and Nelson have a 1-year-old son, Bentley, who “their whole lives revolved around from the minute he was born,” Haglund said.

“Mike absolutely adored Bentley” and cared for him while Nelson attended college full-time and worked, Haglund said. “Mike would have done anything for those two.”

The GoFundMe campaign raised more than $6,000 for Nelson and Bentley by 1 p.m. Wednesday. The campaign has an initial goal of $10,000, but Haglund said she is hoping to raise as much money as possible to support Esler’s young family.

Friends are planning to place a drop box at the Community of Grace Lutheran Church in White Bear Lake to collect packages and presents for Bentley, with Christmas less than two weeks away, Haglund said.

A “meal train” is also being organized to deliver meals to Nelson so she “does not have to worry about cooking” as she grieves, Haglund said.