DETROIT – Family and friends are still trying to process the untimely death of Cass Technical High School coach Dennis Smith who was widely known as “Coach Smitty.”
Smith, 46, was shot and killed on Livernois Avenue on May 5. There is surveillance footage showing the suspect firing the weapon.
“He was more than just a football coach,” said Maria Adams-Lawton.
All Adams-Lawton can do now is remember the good times she had with the coach.
“His heart was truly for the kids and for the community and what he could do to make it a better place,” Adams-Lawton said.
Greg Wilson is worried about the huge absence that will now be in the heart of the many players Smith mentored.
“He’s going to be greatly missed. It’s going to be a big void to fill,” Wilson said. “It’s probably gonna have to be some guys like myself and other guys around to step up and make sure those kids are in good hands, cause they’re going to need them at this time.”
Smith leaves behind several kids of his own -- you can only imagine what they must be going through.
If you know the man pictured in the video call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up.