Clara City pilot dies of injuries from crop-dusting crash

By Staff reports

August 03, 2023 at 11:00 AM

CLARA CITY, Minn. 鈥� A Clara City man has died as a result of injuries he suffered in a crash while piloting a crop-dusting plane in Chippewa County.

The family of Derek John DuHoux reported that he died Wednesday, Aug. 2, while in medical care for the injuries he suffered the morning of July 25.

鈥淒erek went doing what he loves 鈥� flying! Godspeed son, fly high with the angels,鈥� the family posted on a CaringBridge site created to share medical updates about him.

The Chippewa County Sheriff鈥檚 Office reported that the plane DuHoux was flying caught a power line and crashed into a cornfield in Crate Township around 9:35 a.m. July 25. He was transported by LifeLink Aircare with life-threatening injuries after emergency responders reached the site, according to the news release from the sheriff at the time. The medical facility was not named.

The Clara City native and MACCRAY High 歪歪漫画 graduate was a military veteran and a 2011 graduate of the aircraft and pilot bachelor鈥檚 program at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, according to West Central Tribune archives and a LinkedIn page.

His service in the military included service as Alpha Company commander with the 1-10 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion in the U.S. Army.

A West Central Tribune photo from 2007 shows he missed his senior prom while attending military training in Georgia.

050407 maccray prom 5.jpeg — A May 2007 photo from the MACCRAY prom grand march, conducted that year at the MACCRAY West Elementary 歪歪漫画 in Maynard, shows a student wearing a poster of a photo of Derek DuHoux, a fellow MACCRAY student who, according to West Central Tribune archives, could not attend his senior prom because he was in military training in Georgia. Several others at the prom wore American flags in honor of DuHoux. Shown are Joe Plante of Maynard and Katie Holmgren of Clara City.

By Staff reports

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.