Staff photo by Fritz Busch Participants at the Jackson Bieraugel bench dedication at the New Ulm Civic Center Thursday, from left, Brody Johnson, Kayla Kokesch, Forrest Bieraugel, Brendan Bieraugel, Courtney Botten, and Jordan Kokesch.

NEW ULM — The best friend of a 16-year-old New Ulm High School student who died in a one-vehicle crash near the New Ulm Municipal Airport in October 2019, dedicated a bench commemorating him outside the New Ulm Community Center Thursday.

Jackson Bieraugel was a passenger in the rear bed of a 1995 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck driven by Brody Johnson who lost control and rolled the vehicle. Bieraugel was pinned under the truck and pronounced dead at the scene.

Johnson and John Reinhart built the bench entirely of concrete that was dedicated in front of dozens of people, many of them hockey fans. Bench materials and other work were supplied by American Services, Henderson Powder Coating, LLC and Carroll Construction Supply, all of New Ulm.

“I want to thank everybody for coming out and showing how much they care about Jackson and his family,” said Johnson.

“I thought it would be nice to have a memorial for Jackson,” Johnson said. “The bench is in a high-traffic area. I thought it would be good for friends to know about it.”

Johnson has fond memories of Bieraugel.

“He was a funny guy that everyone could joke and laugh with, and feel accepted,” Brody said. “Jackson and I played a lot of hockey until the first year of bantams. His hockey spirit was bigger than anyone I know. His whole family grew up with hockey. His brothers played too.”

Johnson said he remembered going to Harman Park when there was ice and playing pickup hockey games with Jackson.

“We enjoyed watching Minnesota Wild (NHL) games on TV at his place. I remember us getting excited and yelling at the TV,” said Brody. “In the summer of 2019, we’d play golf with his grandpa Greg Bieraugel at the Winthrop Golf Club.”

Johnson has many other fond memories of Jackson.

“We played lots of video games together. We walked around New Ulm on summer nights, walking down to Minnecon Park and look at the (Minnesota) river,” said Johnson.

Jackson enjoyed many kinds of music and sang in the high school choir.

Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.