From the Public Relations Office at Harding University:

Nicholas Smith (21), a student at Harding University, died early Saturday morning, March 7, 2015, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

The accident occurred on Interstate 71 just outside Louisville, Kentucky. Smith was traveling for a student organized mission trip to Syracuse, New York, where he was to be a summer youth intern.

Smith, originally from Buford, Georgia, was a senior youth and family ministry major at the University set to graduate in May, a member of Beta Omega Chi men’s social club, and an honor student.

Two other passengers in the car were University students Drew Taylor, who was airlifted to a Louisville hospital to have surgery Saturday morning and is stable and recovering, and Abby Owens, who was treated and released.

More details of the accident will be released as they develop.