Promising SUNY Potsdam basketball captain Emily Smith, 20, was struck and killed by a vehicle near campus at 3:37am on Saturday. A teenager, Jakob D. Krise, was later arrested after police located a damaged black Cadillac Escalade on Route 11 and charged him w
For Emily Smith, the early hours of Saturday began like any other night with teammates and friends — until a vehicle struck her near SUNY Potsdam around 3:37am and the campus community was left trying to understand how the moment could turn fatal.
Smith, 20, was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Police said the driver’s vehicle hit her at 3:37am, setting off an investigation that moved quickly in the hours that followed.
About four hours later, officers located a black Cadillac Escalade on Route 11. The vehicle reportedly had front-end damage, and the teenager linked to the crash, 18-year-old Jakob D. Krise of Brasher Falls, N.Y., was arrested.
Krise has been charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash resulting in death, zero tolerance driving while intoxicated and driving across hazard markings. He is scheduled to appear in Potsdam Town Court on May 20.
On campus, grief has spread across teammates, friends, classmates, coaches and supporters since Smith’s death was confirmed. She was described by SUNY Potsdam as a transfer student who was already excelling academically during her first year at the university. earning a place on the Dean’s List and building a close circle of friends and mentors.
Smith was also captain of the SUNY women’s basketball team. In a statement after the tragedy. the school said: “Emily was with teammates and friends at the time of the incident. and many more friends. classmates. coaches and supporters joined together with her family while she was at the hospital.” The statement added that the campus community mourns her loss “as one campus community. ” and that it is “holding her family. friends. and loved ones in our hearts at this difficult time.”.
Her coach, Brittany Cohen, said: “I am heartbroken. She was an extraordinary young woman, beloved by her teammates, coaches and everyone she met.”
SUNY Potsdam has shared pictures of its gymnasium, which has been turned into a memorial space. The school said it will make plans to commemorate Smith at a later date. and that drop-in counseling sessions have been made available for students. Police also stressed that the investigation remains active and that additional charges may be pending.
The facts of the case are now fixed in a timeline: Smith was struck at 3:37am, pronounced dead after arriving at a nearby hospital, and by roughly four hours later a black Cadillac Escalade on Route 11 was found with front-end damage — leading to the arrest of Jakob D. Krise.
For a basketball program that knew her as a captain and for a university community that is now turning a gym into a memorial, what remains hardest to measure is what comes next: the full scope of the investigation, and the accountability demanded by the crash that ended Emily Smith’s life so early.
SUNY Potsdam Emily Smith basketball hit and run Jakob D. Krise Potsdam Town Court Route 11 Cadillac Escalade Brittany Cohen