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

[Deleted member 219975]

hi
i wonder if i can clarify one or two things as ive confused myself having only just found this case..is the official opinion he got stuck then in an attempt to get the car out popped a block on the pedal and tried to push it out backwards at which point it set off and hit the house? also i understand they found the location he took the last pic from in admiral farragut park, do they know where exactly in the park he took it.and lastly does anyone have a exact location of the house he hit..... something doesnt sit right with this...maybe wrong

 

[Deleted member 219975]

ok found the house.. can see that if he drove round the back of the house then pulled up away from the house to the left so he was in line with the decking posts and got stuck then he could have attempted to put in reverse and drop a block on the pedal,at which point hes stood outside the car,then either it set off or he went round the front to push but if he did that wouldnt there be hand marks on the front. if he pulled round the back and went to drive out towards the drive he would have been pointing the wrong way to hit as he did.the car front wheels are pointing straight ahead so suggests it was in line with the house..
why was he round the back of the house off the drive way.? then the theory is he walked back up the drive way with one shoe, disorientated then turned left instead of going strait on and walked half a mile to where they found him.spose he could have walked through the trees to the road.also the only way i can see he got a knock to the head is if the car door hit him when he dropped the block on the pedal and the car set off but that would suggest the car wasnt stuck.if it was he would have got out the way to go push it. if the car had set off as he dropped the block the door would have struck him so maybe explain the knock but that would surley leave a trace on the door. its the line of the car needed to hit the decking supports thats really odd and why he would drive round the back of the house.the car hit with a bit of force so had enough traction to get some speed up and like said the lack of any sign of mud on the tyres doesnt fit with a bogged car thats front wheel drive. the mud would be on the front of the wheel arch and theres nothing. could be the other side was the bogged one and we cant see the mud traces.
i may be completely wrong im just thinking out loud. oh nearly forgot and probably already proved but that car was going backwards when it hit..ive spent many years doing police recovery and accident scene recreation to recognise the damage.its a give away anyway with the door and where the door trim has been scraped taking off the trim that holds the window switches ect not to mention the rear damage, the way the aluminium work bench thingy has fallen and the saw mule stuck into the ground.

 

[Deleted member 219975]

the aluminium fence looking thing is a long aluminium work bench.

 

[Deleted member 219975]

well having read some of the other theories and seen the high res pics and the fact they found muddy hand prints on the front bumper i can see the theory of he drives down the side of the house,reason unknown,decides to leave and attempts a 3 point turn. car get stuck at a point its inline with the house give or take.u cant see the opposite side of car so there could be mud evidence there. either way has bright idea of placing concrete slab on pedal when in reverse to aid recovery.goes round the front to push and the car gets traction and sets off faster than he reckoned(could be block pressed pedal more when the car moved?) car goes backwards to house and the rear end takes out the step support wood then the door takes out the decking support wood.in the first impact the block jumps off the pedal and the car is stopped by the second impacts. the car on tick over would not drive hence its still running later but in reverse.the wheels been straight ahead but the car at an angle to the building could be either the wheels were straightened before the pic or the first impact jilted the steering enough to let it have the angle of exit and the car self centerd the steering over the last distance( cars can do that). either way the car went backwards down the side of the house and exited where it was photoed thats certain.my guess as to why the door was open(it had to be to get the damage it did) is that in his plan to extract the car he thought that once out of it been stuck he could run round and stop it so left the door ajar.hey its how u think as a kid in the ****, ive pulled loads out of fields and ditches.
the head injury well without knowing where on his head it was it is very possible and ive done it in the snow, he pushed/lifted the car and off it set either quicker than he recond it would or he simply as im sure lots have u have in the snow, all ur body is pushing forward(or backwards if he decided to lift/push with his back to it) then when the car moves u naturally over balance and hit the deck(or just plain slip).either he hit his head on the car or on the ground. he could have hit the car bumper hard enough to injure but not show sign on the car,the bumpers are designed to be pedestrian friendly and yield slightly ie there not solid.dont know where they found his shoe ect that would tell a story. then as said disorientated and upset( one shoe missing hints he wasnt registering the world properly) he walked the direction he did ending in him collapsing or fainting face first in the water.my guess is he went to the water or ended up at the water and tried to clear his head by splashing water on it and at that point he passed out.face down in a puddle u can drown if ur unconscious. the lack of tyre tracks can simply be that there was only one spot that was mud or rubble and he found it. once off it the ground was solid enough to not leave a trace on the photos. would have been nice to have seen the underside of the car at the front im suspicious he grounded it on a rock/mound of earth ect and not in mud and that would explain the lack of mud evidence on the tyres ect.
why didnt he ring for help,well when ur young u dont want the hassle unless all else has failed and as i see it he had a plan.ive had a lot of those plans and whilst at the time they seem perfect in reality things usually get worse.
why he was there prob just curious or took the left turn when he ment to go straight on. i wonder if he was trying to get to the waters edge and thought the driveway would get him there..his last pic was of a scene from the waters edge.
would also explain why the dogs didnt pick up his scent around the car as he was a distance away from where it ended up when he was injured.
all in all does seem like a tragic set of accidents.

 

[Deleted member 219975]

purely for my interest the photo they identified as admiral park is it this one. and if so was it taken from the end of the dirt road leading to the water.

 

[rsd1200]

I'm just checking back in on this case, and this is the first time I've seen this pic. Look at the back quarter panel, and the way that is pushed, down and forward, and is crumpled, up high. My spouse has worked with vehicles, nearly all his life. I showed him this, and just what he can see from this one pic, he said it looked as if a larger vehicle, hit that rear quarter panel, and it was a larger vehicle, possible with a heavy bumper. He said, that based on this pic, that the scene looks very much staged. He also said, that while anything can happen, it is unlikely, that this vehicle, could sustain that damage, in the "accident" above. If this has been previously discussed, apologies, I'm a bit behind.

 

[rsd1200]

From looking at the steering wheel, it doesn't look like the airbag deployed.

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Where's the car tracks? That kind of damage he'd had to have hit pretty hard, and high up. It appears he went over the debris, and if that's true, he'd had to have hit and gone over the debris, and damage to the front end? Look how low that front end is. I don't see any evidence of him at least spinning wheels when went over that piece of metal either, and there's no mud on the tires or the running board area.

 

[rsd1200]

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.

I just don't get this either. He had a phone. It obviously had service or Dad couldn't have tracked him. Call a tow truck, and explain when he gets back to school, that he'd had an accident. Simple. I'm just a bit leery of the conclusion.

 

[rsd1200]

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?

BBM

This. Yes.

 

[rsd1200]

Agree with everyone that this does not look like a car that had been previously stuck in red clay. I have lived in TN, MS, AL and GA....I know all about red clay and have been with people stuck in it. There is splatter all over the car. And if the door was open when the car was either in the process of being unstuck or moving, there would be red clay splatter on the inside of that light colored bottom half of the door.

What about the possibility that he was chased to this location by another vehicle and he was attempting to hide behind this house?

Any of the possibilities being discussed, would depend on what vehicle tracks and foot tracks were there and those being discovered and investigated by LEO.

That door is more than just sprung, note how the door is folded over the front fender. Just from what I can see here, it looks as if it would have had to have been driven backward, with the door open. As the car was being driven backwards, it has mad contact, with a post, fence, or, another vehicle. If there's no paint transfer, then maybe not, or the vehicle that struck the car had a higher unpainted bumper, as in chrome.

 

[TruthIsStranger]

Wow. Thanks for all the theories regarding the logistics of this incident.

People recent to this thread may not have read how incredibly strict his school was about behavior, morality, and curfew. He also wanted to be a minister. At least this is what I gathered from former attendees of the school who commented earlier.

Just imagine how horrified he must have been regarding the repercussions of the multiple serious and shameful--to him and others close or important to him--infractions that he had committed. Most of us had college experiences that were nothing like his, and, for example, we could probably have called AAA with no one else finding out, except maybe our parents. Then again, AAA has never sent out a towing report when I've used it, but we don't know if he even had AAA.

His parents probably paid his credit card bills, so they would have questioned a towing bill of, what $200 or more way out in the country? They would have been beyond shocked and probably would never have trusted him again. Plus they would have wanted to know why he was out at night without any classmate to serve as as a chaperone buddy of sorts and why he was near an empty new house. Would he even have been able to give an address to a tow truck? This is new construction out in the country that might not be labeled. Would a tow truck come to private property that the towee was obviously on illegally?

And his car was pretty much totaled, so what would his parents have said and how would the insurance company not notify his parents? His rates would gave gone up, and he would have needed a new car.

Also, he could have been put in JAIL for trespassing and damaging this home accidentally, correct? Someone might have seen the commotion of a tow truck at night and alerted the owner or the police. How would he have paid for damage to the house? Could he have been kicked out of school for this, alone, not to mention the other major issues--trespassing, missing curfew, lying, suspected premarital activity.

Would his tuition have been forfeited and his dreams of being a minister destroyed? The shame and anxiety with regard to hundreds of people finding out or suspecting him of all of these actions or activities would have been great. He would have been left with his college plans destroyed, his career plans destroyed, his family's perception of him greatly altered, along with his reputation in the community, both at school and back home. Plus he would have had legal problems, legal bills, and repair bills. Poor guy! No wonder he did what he did in the middle of the night at the house. And I do think this was an accident, now, due to the head injury.

 

[Tricia]

We need the link to the white car wrecked ASAP please.

 

[rsd1200]

I've been here pretty much since day one, and had a couple other theories going on, but til today had not seen the vehicle. It just doesn't match up to me.

 

[TruthIsStranger]

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...

View attachment 130771View attachment 130772View attachment 130770View attachment 130773

This picture, Tricia?

 

[TruthIsStranger]

I bet that one of those two supports landed on his head. They're on the side of the open door where he might have been trying to enter the car.

Some would say that this situation proves that bad things happen when you disobey the "rules," but I think it proves what can go wrong when the rules are messed up in the first place. A 20 year old guy should be able to live off campus without family, friends, and school all up in his business. If he could have hosted whomever he (probably) had an encounter with in the comfort and privacy of his own home, he wouldn't have been out in the middle of nowhere with no option other than to risk his life to avoid ruining all other aspects of it-- legally, financially, educationally, professionally, and socially. Terrible decision to have to make just for wanting some company like any other normal human being.

 

[Father Chris Sodder]

Has there been any updates to this case?
---Father Chris Sodder

 

[Deleted member 219975]

I'm just checking back in on this case, and this is the first time I've seen this pic. Look at the back quarter panel, and the way that is pushed, down and forward, and is crumpled, up high. My spouse has worked with vehicles, nearly all his life. I showed him this, and just what he can see from this one pic, he said it looked as if a larger vehicle, hit that rear quarter panel, and it was a larger vehicle, possible with a heavy bumper. He said, that based on this pic, that the scene looks very much staged. He also said, that while anything can happen, it is unlikely, that this vehicle, could sustain that damage, in the "accident" above. If this has been previously discussed, apologies, I'm a bit behind.

if you look at a close up of the houseu can see theres a stairway support missing. the rear end took that out hence the door not damaged till the second post. u can see where the post slid down the interior of the door as it forced it backwards against the wing of the car. the lighter coloured wood damaged the interior door trim in line with the door mirror. if u zoom in on the wood it appears where the long beam and another cross there is white residue from the interior door trim and by the joint cutting in the end of the wood its the right face of the wood.the white thing is the fall pipe attached to the deck support.

 

[Deleted member 219975]

Where's the car tracks? That kind of damage he'd had to have hit pretty hard, and high up. It appears he went over the debris, and if that's true, he'd had to have hit and gone over the debris, and damage to the front end? Look how low that front end is. I don't see any evidence of him at least spinning wheels when went over that piece of metal either, and there's no mud on the tires or the running board area.

the car went backwards 100% look at the rear where it has pushed the saw horse into the ground.. the aluminium bench is turned over to the right, the door has been bent back into the fender hard enough to put a bow in the door.

 

[Deleted member 219975]

its so easy to see what u want there to be instead of what is there. one problem is u cant see the other side or the underneath of the car.. theres no doubt it went backwards into the house...spose if u want a crime theory, he went for a dodgy reason and argued with some one connected with the house...in revenge he drives backwards to damage the house. the other party gets him out and in the struggle his shoe and chain are pulled off before the assailant hits him unconscious. he then has to plan the plot so puts the concrete block in the car and then carries the body and dumps it half a mile away in the water.
be the worst planned plot. wheres the foot prints of anyone else for one...
it is curious why he was there and didnt stop on the hard standing but drove to the rear. it is odd he took the photo of the lake then drove so far down a dirt road that goes to no where.. did he take lots of photos like that..was he planning some sort of online spot these places game..was he just going to meet a girl further down the road and took the wrong turn .i still think its innocent.

 

[rsd1200]

its so easy to see what u want there to be instead of what is there. one problem is u cant see the other side or the underneath of the car.. theres no doubt it went backwards into the house...spose if u want a crime theory, he went for a dodgy reason and argued with some one connected with the house...in revenge he drives backwards to damage the house. the other party gets him out and in the struggle his shoe and chain are pulled off before the assailant hits him unconscious. he then has to plan the plot so puts the concrete block in the car and then carries the body and dumps it half a mile away in the water.
be the worst planned plot. wheres the foot prints of anyone else for one...
it is curious why he was there and didnt stop on the hard standing but drove to the rear. it is odd he took the photo of the lake then drove so far down a dirt road that goes to no where.. did he take lots of photos like that..was he planning some sort of online spot these places game..was he just going to meet a girl further down the road and took the wrong turn .i still think its innocent.

It's all still very odd. What with being around the back of the house to begin with and missing curfew, never calling for assistance, letting his dorm know that he wasn't going to make curfew due to an accident, etc... That door had to take a hard lick, to bend it back all the way to the front takes quite a lick. I'm not saying someone deliberately killed him, but I think there's more to this story, than we will never know.