Questions remain in 'accidental' death of Crown College student Blake Smith

The Blount County Sheriff's Office offered few answers Wednesday to questions that remain around the death of a Crown College student, which authorities have called an apparent accident.

"Blount County Sheriff James Lee Berrong wants to reassure citizens that sheriff’s investigators are actively working the case involving the death of Blake Smith and following up on all leads," the agency said in a news release Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center released the preliminary results of an autopsy on Smith, whose body was found in George Creek in Louisville, Tennessee, about a half-mile from where his car was found crashed into a house under construction.

Preliminary determination as 'accidental'

Medical examiners "determined the preliminary cause of death as hypothermia/drowning, and his death appears to be accidental," according to BCSO.

Authorities are still awaiting the results of a final autopsy report and a toxicology test, the agency said in its Wednesday release.

BCSO spokeswoman Marian O'Briant said she could not answer specific questions about the autopsy report and referred questions to the Blount County Medical Examiner's Office and Knox County Regional Forensic Center.

"That's their word, not ours," O'Briant said of the use of the word "accidental." She said she could not provide a general definition of what would qualify as an accidental death.

Authorities have not said whether there were any witnesses to the death or if Smith was believed to have been with anyone at the time of his death.

Still an open investigation

The 20-year-old aspiring pastor and college junior from Trussville, Alabama, was last seen Saturday afternoon after he left work at Weed Man Lawn Care. His family has said they suspect foul play in his death, citing the strange circumstances under which his car was found.

The vehicle was wrecked into a construction site on a private dirt road off East Old Topside Road in Louisville, according to the sheriff's office.

Smith's family has said two of his friends initially found his car still running, with a cinder block on the gas pedal, damage to the doors and mirrors and belongings strewn about outside the car. His cell phone and wallet were still in the car.

The sheriff's office has not confirmed all of those details the family gave about the car, and O'Briant said Wednesday she could not comment beyond what has been put out in news releases this week.

Investigators at the Knox County Regional Forensic Center and Blount County Medical Examiner's Office declined to comment.

Smith's parents, Kim and Jim Smith, did not answer a phone call Wednesday morning and his aunt, Jill Williams, did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.

"I know you want answers and we want them too," O'Briant said. "We're following up on all the leads that are coming in. I just can't answer specific questions right now. Our investigators are working their butts off trying to get this closed."

Anyone with information about Blake Smith and his whereabouts between Saturday afternoon at around 2 p.m. and early Monday afternoon is asked to call the BCSO Investigations Unit during normal business hours at 865-273-5001.

Tips can also be left at the 24-hour anonymous Crime Hotline at 865-273-5200 or online via the Text-a-Tip link at www.bcso.com.