Daniel Klutts, a fifth year Industrial and Systems Engineering major, died after sustaining severe injuries in a car accident in the early morning of Sunday, November 13. According to the Democrat & Chronicle, Klutts was returning to campus after visiting his sister at SUNY Geneseo when, at approximately 2 a.m., he lost control of his vehicle and hit a tree on New York State Route 39 in Livingston County. He was rushed to Strong Memorial Hospital, where he died from injuries.

A native of Harpursville, N.Y., Klutts was involved in RIT’s Baja Society of Automotive Engineers team and wrote for the College Driver, an automotive resource site founded by RIT students.

Cory Mack, a sixth year Mechanical Engineering Technology major and College Driver co-founder, described Klutts as a laid-back, likable car enthusiast. He praised Klutts’ outside-the-box thinking, citing Klutts’ work on “Cars on Campus,” a weekly feature detailing bizarre cars at RIT. “He would take a beater on campus and find some way to pull a redeeming quality out of it,” recalled Mack. “He would take some of the most atrocious looking cars on campus and then turn it into something that people would read.”

According to an RIT Message Center email sent by Dr. Mary-Beth Cooper, senior vice president for Student Affairs, a memorial service will take place from 4-7 p.m. on Friday, November 18 at Osterhoudt-Madden Funeral Home in Harpursville, N.Y. Klutts’ funeral will follow at 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 19 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Windsor, N.Y. RIT also plans to hold its own memorial service between Thanksgiving and winter break, although details have yet to be finalized.

Reporter will continue to monitor this story. Updates to follow as more information becomes available. Last updated November 16 at 1:09 a.m.