LDS missionary husband follows wife in death, days after tragic crash

FRESNO, California (KSL.com) — A husband and wife serving as full-time senior missionaries in California have both died as a result of a traffic accident.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the wife’s death on Sunday, saying she died at the scene of the accident. On Tuesday, the statement was updated to say her husband had also died after being hospitalized in critical condition from the accident.

Elder Paul Hardin and Sister Mary Hardin are from San Antonio, Texas, and began their service in the California Fresno Mission in January.

“Our deepest sympathies and condolences go to the Hardin family with the tragic loss of these faithful missionaries. We pray that all who are mourning will be blessed with strength and comforted in their faith in the Savior Jesus Christ,” the church’s statement said.

The crash occurred Saturday evening in Fresno County, California, when the couple was “stopped at a red light when a pickup truck struck their vehicle at a high rate of speed,” according to a church statement.