Carrollton man killed in crash was leader at VMI

ISLE OF WIGHT

When Robert Knight was about 8 years old, he wasn’t exactly tearing up the baseball diamond.

Richard, his father and Little League coach, jokes that when it was time to take the field he’d tell his son to go into the outfield and climb over the fence.

But Robert turned out to be a regular Charlie Hustle. Two years and thousands of swings, throws and catches later, he was an All-Star.

“It was just like with everything else,” Richard Knight said Saturday. “He had that perseverance; he was going to develop himself."

Robert Knight, 19, who was set to leave today for his sophomore year at Virginia Military Institute, was killed early Saturday when his car was struck on U.S. 17 by a man who has been charged with driving under the influence.

Knight lettered in football, track and wrestling at Smithfield High School, which he graduated from in 2007. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest award in Boy Scouts .

He was in JROTC in high school and had long said he wanted to be a career military man; both of his grandfathers had served. He was accepted to VMI, and an ROTC scholarship gave him a full ride.

The freshman year is a trying one for a VMI cadet, who is called a “Rat” in the first year . But Knight stood out in the field of about 450 first-year students: He was assertive, but not loud; proud, but not a braggart.

He’d run extra laps, hit the ropes before the others and do more pushups.

“Knight was always the one being proactive,” said Jared Balsor of Suffolk, a fellow VMI Rat last year. “He was the one going by people’s rooms, making sure we had our shoes and our brass shined, making sure our beds were made.

“He wanted to make sure our company was the best; we need someone like that at VMI.”

For his sophomore year, Knight was chosen to be a Cadre member, a cadet who would guide the incoming class of cadets.

Early Saturday, Robert was returning to his Carrollton home after spending the evening catching up with friends. State Police Sgt. Michelle Cotten said Knight was turning left from Smiths Neck Road onto U.S. 17 when his car was broadsided. He was a couple thousand feet from his house.

The driver of the other vehicle, Lucian Friel, 23, of Portsmouth, has been charged with driving under the influence.

VMI, four hours away in Lexington, is bracing for the arrival of Knight’s classmates in the coming days – many of whom will likely hear of his death for the first time when they arrive, said Lt. Col. Stewart MacInnis, a VMI spokesman.

“This is a tear in their ranks,” MacInnis said. “They’re going to feel it very keenly.”

Colonial Funeral Home in Smithfield is handing Robert Knight’s funeral arrangements. A time has not been set for the visitation and funeral yet.

“He was only 19 1/2 years old, but he achieved an awful lot in his lifetime,” Richard Knight said.

John Warren, (757) 446-2309, john.warren@pilotonline.com