Found Deceased TN - Blake Smith, 20, Knoxville, 3 Feb 2018

[AzPistonsGirl]

FEBRUARY 27, 2018
SHERIFF’S OFFICE CLOSES CASE IN DEATH OF CROWN COLLEGE STUDENT
MARYVILLE, TENNESSEE – Blount County Sheriff James Lee Berrong said Sheriff’s investigators closed the case on the death of Crown College student Blake R. Smith, 20, who passed away February 4.
Smith, from Trussville, Alabama, was a student at Crown College in Powell.
Sheriff’s investigators closed the case following a meeting with medical examiners and the Blount County District Attorney General. The medical evidence and the evidence at the scene confirmed that Smith was involved in a vehicle accident at the construction site on Ballards Way in Louisville on February 4 where his crashed vehicle was found. An autopsy performed February 6 revealed Smith suffered a small subdural brain bleed, which likely caused Smith to become confused and disoriented. Further evidence revealed that Smith was alone when he entered the lake bottom where investigators found his body in Georges Creek on February 5, approximately a half mile from the construction site on Ballards Way. The medical examiner ruled Smith’s death as accidental drowning. The toxicology report was negative.
Sheriff’s investigators met with Smith’s family following the closure of the case.
“Blake’s death is a sad and unfortunate accident,” Sheriff Berrong said. “From all accounts, he was a Godly and kind young man who had an adventurous spirit and liked to explore, which is likely why he came to Blount County. His life, and death, touched many people, including those of us at the Sheriff’s Office. I am very sad for the family and friends he left behind.”

Can you please post the link where this came from? Some of us might like to look closer (plus it lends credibility). Thank you!

 

[whatsnext]

So another accidental drowning...but how do they explain the crash and the cinder block? (Sorry if I missed that)
Hello, and greetings from Germany!
Kristin

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[jollymon]

http://www.wbir.com/article/news/lo...dent-died-of-accidental-drowning/51-523771677

 

[tillywilly]

I find it strange still that potentially there was a cinder block on the gas pedal and he wasn’t so disoriented to take a photo and post it before entering the lake. Just moo.


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The cinder block is perplexing but I've heard it might be untrue and just a rumor. As for the photo, BS took it at a park (Admiral Farragut Park) about 10-15 minutes away before being at the house.

I'm a local and I'm calling BS on their 'investigation'

 

[TruthIsStranger]

How does a person crash into a house off the side of the road especially a house they're not visiting? Also, why so distracted on a lonely road while sober. Bizarre. How do they know he was alone in the water?

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[AzPistonsGirl]

I, too, wondered how anyone could possibly know he was alone when he went in the water. What an odd thing to say, and even odder to prove IMO (save for video footage, which we have no idea if they have and I am not saying there is video of him anywhere) but that'd be the only way IMO.

ETA: I do think he went into the water alone, but still find that so odd to even mention.

 

[FasHawks8]

http://www.wbir.com/article/news/lo...dent-died-of-accidental-drowning/51-523771677

"Investigators said he was alone when he entered the lake, about a half mile from where the accident happened"

It's obvious how they know where
A) the accident happened
B)
C) where they found the body

but how do they know when/where he ENTERED the lake?


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[Kittybunny]

How very very odd...so where was he the night before? Was the house he crashed into on a road on his way to...somewhere? Was he just randomly driving around that afternoon or did he have a destination in mind? Maybe he found out they were looking for him and that he hadn't spent the night in his dorm, and that he would get in serious trouble for it - possibly even expelled. And either he wasn't paying attention, distracted OR he couldn't face the consequences.

I guess in my mind this still could be a suicide or attempted suicide, and the ME and LE are letting his family have that small comfort.

But, since we'll highly likely never know all the details now that the case is closed, I'll just let it be. R.I.P. Blake. Peace to his family and friends.

 

[eucalyptuz]

So the initial autopsy lead to the conclusion his death was caused by drowning/hypothermia but didn’t find the head injury...
A somewhat deficient autopsy not to find a subdural brain bleed
And this head injury was caused by a single car accident? In a cul-de-sac?

Poor lad Blake. I hope he is resting in peace.

 

[eucalyptuz]

Thanks to tillywilly for this image. Are you able to link to a source?

Seeing that wreck explains the family’s initial reaction of “foul play” as it does look more than a lone kid’s misadventure. I think the sherriff’s Office have probably been thorough with the investigation and only found evidence of Blake at the scene. If it was as muddy as reported, perhaps LE were able to track a single set of footprints to the water’s edge, and perhaps they could tell by the trajectory that the walker was disoriented. I am surprised that the brain injury was not reported initially, but now that we know that perhaps that came from a second accident outside of his own car...well, it all makes a bit more sense now. I wish we knew what time this happened and why, after getting in trouble in the mud, he didn’t call friends for help...makes me think it was late and he was fearing the consequences.

In any case, a sad end to a life too short.

 

[anonypotomous]

Wow, after seeing that car I have even more questions. A car door doesn’t get bent back like that from hitting something head on. And the back of the car is also damaged.


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[JazzTune]

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2018/02/young_alabama_college_student.html

I still have a big question. From the link above, dated Feb. 4th:

"...Police think the car was stolen," said Smith's aunt, Jill Basher Williams, when she spoke to AL.com Sunday afternoon."

"The canine unit did not detect his scent outside of the car."

( BBM )


Was this an error in reporting? If not, and it is indeed true, the final official investigation findings make no sense at all to me. Can anyone else explain this?


JMO

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

http://www.wbir.com/article/news/lo...dent-died-of-accidental-drowning/51-523771677

From the article:

“Based on the evidence, here is what investigators think happened:

Smith was out exploring, as investigators learned he liked to do. He found his way to a neighborhood on Ballards Way in Lousiville, where he somehow got stuck in the mud near a home that was under construction.

In an attempt to get his vehicle out of the mud, they believe he placed a piece of concrete (erroneously called a brick in the initial incident report) that he likely found in the construction debris, on the accelerator to make the car easier to push.

Muddy hand prints on the driver's side fender and footprints indicate that he likely pushed the car in that area, Somehow, Smith got caught between the driver's door and the decking support of the house and was injured.

He suffered a small subdural brain bleed, which likely caused him to become confused and disoriented.

Investigators said he was alone when he entered the water, which was only 18-20 inches deep where he was found, about a half mile from where the accident happened. The medical examiner ruled his death was the result of an accidental drowning. The toxicology report was negative for any drugs or alcohol.

When officers arrived on the scene the next day, the car was still running. A water jug was found on the driver's side floor board, and Smith's wallet containing cash and credit cards was found near the car.“ (BBM)

Personally, I don’t believe for a second he was simply “out exploring.” As to what he might have been doing, if that’s something the family does not want disclosed, I fully respect their wishes.

If he was lucid enough to try to get his car out of the mud (at least initially), why didn’t he call for help? Maybe his phone fell to the ground at some point and he couldn’t find it? Or did he not want to bother his friends at school, who likely would have been in bed by then? Had he called them, however, they might have had to report to their RA what was going on, which would have gotten him into trouble, too. And it’s so strange to me that supposedly, none of his dorm mates realized he was missing at curfew. Perhaps some of them were covering for him: “I won’t report you if you won’t report me” type of thing.

The extensive damage to the car (thanks for posting the photo, tillywilly) is bizarre. Maybe he became so frustrated at one point that he started damaging the car intentionally? Or perhaps the initial crash was more serious than it appeared at first?

I am so sorry this fine young man lost his life. From my own perspective, he wasn’t doing anything wrong: This didn’t have to end the way it did, and that’s what makes my heart ache for Blake more than anything.

I hope his family eventually finds peace somehow.

 

[eucalyptuz]

I dug around and found some photos that were posted earlier and if we compare them with the wreck photo from tillywilly, I think it's easier to work out what may have happened.

#1 Ballards way house construction as per Google earth Oct 2017
#2 Close-up Ballards way house construction as per Google earth Oct 2017
#3 House view from Old East Topside RD as posted by Knoxnews media
#4 Wreck photo posted by tillywilly

-Firstly, by comparing the wreck photo #4 and the news photo #3, I think we can all be certain that it is Blake's car and that the accident happened at the rear of the house on the lake side given that the house structure in the two photos is identical. The press photo seems to have been taken after the car was removed but zooming shows tire tracks and felled posts etc. I think we all initially assumed that the car was on the other side of the house because it was not shown in the press coverage the day it was found.
-Secondly, given all the facts released by LE and by tillywilly's photo showing the car's final location, I find the Sheriff's narrative of Blake's trouble in the mud and attempts to free his car to be very credible. Although he was a strong young man, I can imagine that if he was out after curfew and had already damaged his car (and someone's property?) he may have been very reluctant to get anyone else involved.
-Thirdly, I don't know what took him to the water, why his phone was left with the car, why the police didn't initially report the head injury etc...However, I have witnessed a severely concussed person with life-threatening injuries try to stand and smile...and I know that there is no logic to the behaviour...He may have simply wanted to wash his hands before knocking on a stranger's door for help or calling a cab ride home...

 

[LadyO]

Wow, what a strange case. Thanks to all who posted pics.

I notice that on when comparing the pics eucalyptuz posted, that while the car came to rest in front of the French doors of the house, there is damage to the decking all the way up to the far end of the deck. Makes me think he ran up and under the deck, tried to back up which damaged the rear left of the car, then opened his door to try to find some way to get the car out. Perhaos he forgot to close the door, so once he rigged up his block on the gas pedal, the xar shot back, bending the door back and injuring BS in the process.

I didn't notice any damage when I drove by. They must have cleaned up quickly, which leads me to think police knew pretty much what happened from early on, and never considered it a homicide.

God bless him, I hope his family has peace.

 

[Gardenchef]

I have a few thoughts/questions. Looking at the pictures the damage to the car seems odd. The driver side rear is damaged so that doesn't fit if the front ran into the decking and he reversed and rehit the car in the back. Wouldn't the damage be on the passenger side rear? Also, BS, by all accounts was an upstanding young man. It seems odd that not only would he leave the roadway/driveway but head onto private party where there was only dirt and turn right to crash where he finally landed. It seems such an out of the way, private place to be 'exploring'. And the damage to the car just doesn't seem to be consistent with the picture posted and how he would have ended up where he crashed?

 

[LadyO]

I have a few thoughts/questions. Looking at the pictures the damage to the car seems odd. The driver side rear is damaged so that doesn't fit if the front ran into the decking and he reversed and rehit the car in the back. Wouldn't the damage be on the passenger side rear? Also, BS, by all accounts was an upstanding young man. It seems odd that not only would he leave the roadway/driveway but head onto private party where there was only dirt and turn right to crash where he finally landed. It seems such an out of the way, private place to be 'exploring'. And the damage to the car just doesn't seem to be consistent with the picture posted and how he would have ended up where he crashed?

I may be seeing things, but in the car pic, is there some large metal thing painted a reddish color, behind where the rear damage of the car is? Looks kind of like a piece of construction equipment. Is it possible that that's what caused the rear damage??

 

[eucalyptuz]

I am not sure of the exact date and time of the photo by Knoxnews media but it was posted to the article about the search for Blake on the Monday so I guess the police had already had the scene for 24 hours - giving plenty of time for the car to be removed before press arrived along with the organized search parties.
I found a high res copy of the photo of the lake side of the house and I think repairs to the structure seem to be well underway, with posts propping up the patio and a worker at the scene...also evident is the churned deep mud to the bottom left of the photo

 

[LadyO]

I am not sure of the exact date and time of the photo by Knoxnews media but it was posted to the article about the search for Blake on the Monday so I guess the police had already had the scene for 24 hours - giving plenty of time for the car to be removed before press arrived along with the organized search parties.
I found a high res copy of the photo of the lake side of the house and I think repairs to the structure seem to be well underway, with posts propping up the patio and a worker at the scene...also evident is the churned deep mud to the bottom left of the photo
View attachment 130783View attachment 130784

Good catch, did not notice the worker there before. Yeah, it looks like the evidence was pretty plain to the authorities who saw it first hand if the property was cleared that quickly. I'm sure they have much more info that puts these snippets we've gotten into perspective.

 

[MzOpinion8d]

So if my car is stuck in mud, and I'm going to try to push it out from the rear area of the driver's side, and I decide to use a cement block on the accelerator to have the tires moving while I push on the car, why would I have the car in reverse so that if it did become unstuck it would run over me?