Raymond Boertmann
Raymond Boertmann, 29, was being transported in a prison van on Interstate 10 in Jackson County, Mississippi, on February 18, 2026, when the van crashed and caught fire, according to Fox 10 News. A friend, Kenton Paglia, described him as driven and mechanically skilled, and said he found peace riding dirt bikes, while his mother, Dawn Boertmann, called him everybody's light during the worst of times. He was hospitalized with severe burns and a brain bleed and died two days later. His mother said she wants to know what happened before the van left the road, and investigators had not released a cause of the crash.
Cause of death, as reported: Died in an accident. Mississippi State troopers confirmed the death in a prison transport van crash on Interstate 10, and his mother Dawn Boertmann says he died of severe burns and a brain bleed from the fiery crash; investigators have not released a cause.
Reported by: Mississippi State troopers (outside investigators); Dawn Boertmann (family or their lawyers).