Smithtown Teen Killed in Car Wreck
A Smithtown teenager was killed Friday night when she apparently lost control of the car she was driving and struck a tree, Suffolk police said.
Tricia Kmiotek, 17, was driving west on Jericho Turnpike about 9:41 p.m. when she swerved off the road, about a quarter mile east of Plymouth Boulevard, and struck a tree on the north side, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kmiotek was a senior at Hauppauge High School and an accomplished horseback rider, according to relatives. She enjoyed animals, singing and dancing, playing volleyball, and aspired to become a writer.
“The way she looked, she intrigued me; the way she thought, she inspired me,” said her boyfriend Jamie Metzger. “She was the most original person I have ever met and I will never forget her.”
Her older sister, Kristin Kmiotek, said, “I loved her more than life itself and will forever miss her greatly. I know that she's now an angel forever watching over me.”
Kmiotek is survived by her parents, Edward and Patricia Kmiotek of Smithtown; two brothers, Matthew of Boynton Beach, Fla., and Christopher of Smithtown; and a sister, Kristin, of Massapequa.
A funeral service will be held at Moloney's Funeral Home in Hauppauge.
