Eastern Kentucky football player Joey Kraemer was killed in a single-car accident early Sunday morning.
Kraemer, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman who had transferred from the University of Texas-El Paso, probably died instantly after striking a tree, a coroner told the Lexington Herald-Leader.
"The news that we lost one of our own is devastating to me, our team and our coaches. We pray that God will give strength to Joey's family during their time of mourning," EKU coach Dean Hood said in a statement. "Joey will truly be missed by all of us he touched, not only because of what he accomplished on the football field, but because of who he was as a person and the impact he made on our lives."
Coroner Jimmy Cornelison said he believes Kraemer died instantly at roughly 1:30 a.m., and that speed could have been a factor in the accident based on the amount of damage to the car.
Kraemer, a defensive end, redshirted at UTEP in 2014.
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