Austin Gainuss; photo courtesy of Hamilton's Funeral Home
Austin Gainuss; photo courtesy of Hamilton’s Funeral Home

An Adel man died Tuesday from injuries he sustained in a car crash over the weekend, but through his death he’ll reportedly be helping hundreds of people.

Austin Gainuss, a 22-year-old Navy veteran, was rear-ended at high speeds on westbound Interstate 80 near the east mixer in Des Moines Saturday night. His passenger, 24-year-old Joshua Cox was declared dead at the scene, while Gainuss was taken to Methodist Hospital. Tuesday morning he was taken off life support and passed away. However, sources say his journey isn’t yet over, as Gainuss was an organ donor. The Iowa Donor Network said the organs and body parts donated by the Adel native post-mortem will help more than 200 people around the country.

According to the Iowa State Patrol, the incident occured when 37-year-old Travis Gonzalez was travelling at a high rate of speed and ran into the rear of the vehicle Gainuss was driving. No charges have yet been brought against Gonzalez, as the State Patrol is waiting on toxicology reports to determine if he had been driving under the influence.