Alcorn State football player’s family killed in car crash over the weekend

ALCORN STATE, Miss. (WLBT) - The Alcorn State University family is mourning after one of their football players lost two loved ones in a deadly crash in Issaquena County over the weekend.

The Alcorn State football team says it’s doing all it can to support and comfort their fellow teammate Tyler Smith after losing his mother and sister in a deadly crash over the weekend.

“Seeing his mom and sister and saying farewell to them after leaving the football game is just a heartfelt moment,” said Alcorn State University head football coach Fred McNair.

The university says the defensive lineman lost his mother, forty-three-year-old Kamille Smith, and his sixteen-year-old sister, Kristin Lucas, in a deadly crash Saturday night.

Coach McNair says he and his football team are surrounding Smith with love and support.

“He wants to be around the guys that make him comfortable in his time of need, and I think what these young guys are doing for him is something good to take his mind off a lot of things he can’t control right now,” coach McNair said.

According to the Mississippi Highway Patrol, 39-year-old Thomas Williams Jr. was driving a Honda Accord south on Highway 61 near Valley Park in Issaquena County when it collided head-on with a Nissan Altima driven by Kamille Smith.

Smith and her daughter Kristin Lucas were pronounced dead on the scene.

Members of the Alcorn family say all of this comes as a shock, but they will continue to support Smith during his time of bereavement.

“It caught everybody off guard,” said Juan Tucker, a grad assistant at Alcorn State University. “At the end of the day, Tyler is a hard worker, always comes on and off the field and does his job. I send all my prayers out to his family and everything.”

“Tyler is a great individual and person and does everything the right way. It’s heartbreaking and tough, and it’s tough on the Alcorn Brave football family as well because we know this young man needs us, and we are here to support,” coach McNair said.

A gofundme account has been set up for Tyler Smith and family members to help pay for funeral expenses.

As of now, funeral arrangements are still being finalized.

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