Carson Volunteer From Texas Dies After Car Accident

_{Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Ben Carson.}

A Midland man volunteering for Ben Carson's presidential campaign died Tuesday following a car accident in Iowa.

Braden Joplin, a 25-year-old student at Texas Tech University, died just after 4:30 p.m. at a hospital in Nebraska, according to the campaign. Earlier in the day, he was one of four people in a van that hit a patch of ice, flipped on its side and was struck by another vehicle. 

Three others were taken to a hospital in Atlantic, Iowa, while Joplin was transported to the trauma center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, the campaign said. Carson canceled all his remaining campaign events Tuesday and went to Omaha to see Joplin and his family. 

In a statement on Joplin's death, Carson said he personally knew the volunteer and was "filled with a deep and profound sadness at his passing." He called Joplin and other volunteers the "unsung heroes of the political process." 

 "Even after more than 30 years experience counseling parents and family members in the most difficult of times, it never gets easier," said Carson, a retired neurosurgeon. "But I find solace in the knowledge of God’s redeeming grace, and I pray that Braden's family finds comfort in the mercy of the Lord."

Carson's rivals for the GOP presidential nomination, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, offered condolences throughout the day.

Abby Livingston contributed reporting.