LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A young pilot who died last week when a small plane crashed in northwest Indiana has been identified as a Purdue University student from Minnesota, authorities said Wednesday.

Alexander Foss, 20, of Maple Grove, was identified using DNA provided by relatives as the pilot who died in the April 11 plane crash, the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office said.

Coroner Carrie Costello said her office, the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration continue investigating the fatal crash.

“Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the family, friends, and the Purdue University community at this difficult time,” Costello said in a statement.

Foss was a junior who was majoring in aviation flight at Purdue, school spokesperson Tim Doty said.

He was flying a single-engine Piper PA-28 when it crashed on April 11, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The wreckage was found the next day in a field northwest of Lafayette, some 60 miles north of Indianapolis.

Foss had rented the aircraft from Purdue Aviation before taking off from Purdue University Airport, said Capt. John Ricks of the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office.

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The adult son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to homicide and other charges in connection with a Dec. 6 crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy.

Ian Cramer (McLean County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

Ian Cramer, 43, waived his preliminary hearing and entered his not guilty plea to felony charges of homicide while fleeing a peace officer, preventing arrest, reckless endangerment and fleeing an officer, as well as three misdemeanor drug charges and other low-level offenses of driving under suspension and marijuana possession.

A jury trial is scheduled for July. Cramer was initially charged with manslaughter, which was subsequently upgraded to the homicide count.

Ian Cramer’s court appearance lasted just a few minutes. He answered yes and no to procedural questions from state District Judge Bobbi Weiler. He briefly conferred with his public defender outside the courtroom after the hearing, then entered an elevator with two sheriff’s deputies.

Bismarck police said Ian Cramer’s mother had taken him to a hospital because of mental health concerns. Court documents say he crawled into the driver seat of his parents’ vehicle after his mother got out and smashed in reverse through the closed garage door of the hospital’s ambulance bay. Court documents say he later fled from deputies when one confronted him in Hazen, about 70 miles from Bismarck.

Cramer hit speeds over 100 mph and kept going even after a spiked device flattened two tires, according to court documents. More spikes were set up and Cramer swerved and then crashed head-on into Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Martin’s patrol vehicle and launched him about 100 feet, authorities said. Martin, 53, was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Martin with his retired K9 Goliath. (Mercer County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

In March, Ian Cramer pleaded not guilty to separate felony charges of theft, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment in connection with the events at the hospital. A jury trial is scheduled for June.

Sen. Cramer has said his son “suffers from serious mental disorders which manifest in severe paranoia and hallucinations.”

Cramer was scheduled for a criminal responsibility evaluation in March at the State Hospital in Jamestown in connection with the two cases.

He is being held at the McLean County Jail in Washburn on $500,000 cash bail.

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Authorities are investigating a fatal motor vehicle collision in Coon Rapids.

According to the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, the crash occurred at about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at Main Street and Wedgewood Drive Northwest.

The sheriff’s office said a man driving a hatchback car on eastbound Main Street entered the westbound lane and collided head-on with a westbound pickup truck.

The hatchback driver, who wasn’t immediately identified, was declared dead at the scene. A man and a boy in the pickup suffered minor injuries.

The collision remains under investigation by the Coon Rapids Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol, Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office and Anoka County Sheriff’s Office.

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