OHIO -- A Western New York basketball player was killed Saturday in a car crash in Ohio.
Ohio State Highway Patrol officers said Karissa Wright, 21, of Buffalo, was drivng in Morrow County on I-71 northbound when she crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer. Her passenger, Amir Billups, 24, was killed. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Billups played basketball for the Buffalo 716ers for the past two seasons. He also played at Starpoint High School and SUNY Fredonia.
716ers owner/coach Tawan Slaughter has already spoken to Billups' mother and teammates. Slaughter said Billups was a pleasure to have on the team.
"If a player was down, he's helping him up," she said. "We even named him captain for the past two years, cause he just exemplified that leadership on and off the court. He was the player I could depend on if I needed something done, I'm gonna go to him, if I needed a message to the players, I'm gonna go to him. They're gonna listen to him, they respect him."
The 716ers plan to retire Billups' jersey and honor his parents at their next home game at 2 p.m. Feb. 21 at Tapestry Charter School