One of two men intentionally run over early Saturday morning at the Donkey Creek campground east of Quinault has died.
The man was identified by family members on social media as Jimmy Smith-Kramer, 20, of Taholah. A family member posted that he passed away from his injuries just before midnight Sunday. Smith-Kramer graduated from Taholah High School in 2015. He was an all-league basketball player for the regional-qualifying Chitwhins in his senior year and was named to the all-Washington state 1B first team as a guard.
He also played football and ran track for the Chitwhins.
Social media was filled with comments about Smith-Kramer on Monday as word of his death spread among his friends and family.
“You were like a little bro to me. You are in God’s hands now, pain free,” wrote Justin Curleybear on his Facebook page. “You will always be in our hearts.”
The hunt continues for the suspect in the early morning attack that killed Smith-Kramer and seriously injured another man from Aberdeen. Undersheriff David Pimental said the suspect vehicle is a white, extended-cab Chevy pickup, mid-’90s model, lifted with large tires.
According to Pimentel, the incident took place about 1:30 a.m. Saturday when the suspect vehicle was spotted driving recklessly on a gravel bar. The driver of the truck, a white male, argued with the victims when confronted about his dangerous driving and continued to spin donuts on the gravel bar. One of the campers reportedly picked up a rock and threw it at the suspect vehicle, breaking one of the truck’s windows.
The driver of the vehicle then placed the truck in reverse and, according to Pimentel, intentionally ran over Smith-Kramer and the 19-year old Aberdeen man.
The driver, described as a 30- to 35-year-old white man with dark hair and a short beard, immediately fled the scene, while a female passenger in the suspect vehicle, a white woman with dark hair around 30 years of age, was heard screaming at the driver to stop.
If anyone has any information in reference to this investigation, contact Detective Sgt. Darrin Wallace or Deputy Eric Cowsert at 360-533-8765.
“You took a brother, a nephew, a son, a grandson, an all-star athlete, A FATHER OF TWINS! You took a hero! Quinault Indian Nation is grieving! For we lost a very loved young man,” wrote HeKolish Gina Jackson-Bryson on a Facebook post pleading for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.
Makenna Roiko has started a GoFundMe page to help the Smith-Kramer family at www.gofundme.com/jimmy-smith-kramer.