CMU student dies from meningitis at GR hospital

By Tony Tagliavia

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (WOOD) -- A Central Michigan University student died Wednesday morning of bacterial meningitis at Spectrum Health in downtown Grand Rapids.

Hospital authorities aren't certain whether LaMott Smith, 26, contracted meningitis while at school in Mount Pleasant or while visiting friends Monday in Ottawa County.

Central Michigan District Health Department Medical Director Dr. Robert Graham likened the illness to "a burning wildfire once it gets going."

It didn't take long for meningitis to take Smith's life. He finished his classes at CMU Friday, went to Ottawa County Monday and began feeling sick Tuesday. He went to Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids and died Wednesday morning.

"LaMott was just a tremendous young man, a young man so full of life he epitomized everything you wanted in a college student," Stan Shingles said.

Shingles was Smith's boss at the Student Activity Center.

"He lived life to the fullest every day," Shingles said of Smith. "He always had a smile on his face...a very positive spirit about him. And our team here in university recreation...we're going to sorely miss him."

Smith was a fixture at the SAC. Every day he was there working or working out.

The Central Michigan District Health Department has identified 11 people who had close contact with Smith. Nine of them have been treated and the department is looking for two others.

"People who have been exposed to Mr. Smith in close quarters like in a household or shared a beverage, we want those people to seek treatment as quickly as possible," said Dr. Robert Graham, medical director for the health department.

There may be more in that category than the two the department is specifically seeking. Plus, there are those who don't need to seek treatment, according to the health department - professors, classmates, casual acquaintances and those who worked with Smith.

This is just the fourth reported case of bacterial meningitis in Michigan this year. It comes months after one at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. Both victims spent time in Ottawa County but experts don't believe the cases are connected.

"If we follow the timeline, the incubation period would have been three or four days," Graham said. "I wouldn't assume he contracted it in Ottawa County."

There is a vaccine for meningitis. Graham said he wasn't sure if Smith had been vaccinated but said the vaccine, while not perfect, is the best defense available.

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