Overview
- Emily Mae Smith, a 20-year-old sophomore and captain of SUNY Potsdam’s women’s basketball team, died after being struck near Pierrepont Avenue early Saturday morning, May 16.
- Police say the vehicle was an older-model black Cadillac Escalade that fled the scene and was later found with front-end damage on U.S. Route 11, where officers arrested 18-year-old Jakob D. Krise.
- Krise has been charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash resulting in death, a zero-tolerance DWI charge for under-21 drivers, and driving across hazard markings.
- He was arraigned in Town of Pierrepont Court, released under probation supervision, and is scheduled to appear again in Potsdam Town Court as investigators continue their work and additional charges remain possible.
- SUNY Potsdam named Jerry Welsh Gymnasium as a campus memorial, offered counseling to students and staff, and described Smith as a Dean’s List business administration major whose death has deeply affected teammates, coaches and the campus community.