(KSN/NBC) ? 19-year-old Jace Smothers had just finished his freshman year at Ozark Christian College (OCC) and was traveling with a Joplin-based youth ministry organization when the van was struck on I-24 in a multi-vehicle crash Friday, June 28.
NBC affiliate KSN quotes a statement from OCC president Matt Proctor, who said Smothers was a staff member with Christ in Youth for the summer and he was one of five people in the van when it was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler.
?It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to inform you that one of our students, Jace Smothers, was killed Friday in an accident near Paducah, Kentucky,? Proctor wrote on OCC?s website.
The crash involved 11 vehicles and 19 people. The crash blocked the eastbound lanes of I-24 east until early Saturday morning. Kentucky State Police said Smothers died on scene.
According to KSN, another passenger had minor injuries and the other three in the van are also in stable condition.
KSN reports Smothers was originally from Norton, Kansas and was a youth ministry major at OCC.
?While serving as a CIY summer Event Staff member, Jace made a profound impact on everyone he came in contact with,? Christ in Youth wrote in a statement on their website. ?Without question, this is one of the saddest moments in our history.?