Jerry Smith
Police believe they know who did it, but because witnesses provided anonymous tips, a driver suspected of killing a man in a gruesome hit-and-run crash may go free.
Police said the driver had no regard for human life. There were emergency vehicles and flashing lights ahead of him that should've warned most people to slow down. Instead, this driver sped through an intersection at more than 60 miles an hour, striking and killing a man.
Relatives said Jerry Smith died doing what he did best: helping people. Last October, Smith saw a traffic accident at 9th and Benton and stopped to direct traffic until rescue crews arrived. Just as police and firefighters got on the scene, a car sped through, hitting Smith with such force that it ripped his legs off and hurled his body hundreds of feet.
"It could've been anyone," Lea Ann Benedetto, Smith's sister, said. "He was out here doing the right thing. The hundreds of people he's helped in the past. He can no longer do that. We just need closure."
Smith's family thought they were going to get closure after a tip helped police arrest a suspect. But prosecutors said an anonymous tip identifying the driver is not enough. Unless witnesses come forward and make a statement, the suspect will go free.
"They have the car," Sharon Carroll, Smith's mother, said. "They know the car was the one that hit him. They can place him in the car before it happened and after it happened. Not during. They need that information. It's imperative."
Police said the suspect and witnesses are Spanish-speaking and those who know him are reluctant to tell detectives everything they know.
"We know the person we're looking at had talked to several people after this, according to the tips information," Doug Harr with KCPD Traffic Investigation said. "We just need one of the people he talked to directly after the incident."
Smith leaves behind two children who are having a tough time coping with their father's death.
Police said that unless a witness can help them, the suspect will go free on Sunday. Anyone with information about Smith's death should call the Tips Hotline or the police traffic investigation unit at 816-482-8191.
John Pepitone, FOX 4 News
Police said the driver had no regard for human life. There were emergency vehicles and flashing lights ahead of him that should've warned most people to slow down. Instead, this driver sped through an intersection at more than 60 miles an hour, striking and killing a man.
Relatives said Jerry Smith died doing what he did best: helping people. Last October, Smith saw a traffic accident at 9th and Benton and stopped to direct traffic until rescue crews arrived. Just as police and firefighters got on the scene, a car sped through, hitting Smith with such force that it ripped his legs off and hurled his body hundreds of feet.
"It could've been anyone," Lea Ann Benedetto, Smith's sister, said. "He was out here doing the right thing. The hundreds of people he's helped in the past. He can no longer do that. We just need closure."
Smith's family thought they were going to get closure after a tip helped police arrest a suspect. But prosecutors said an anonymous tip identifying the driver is not enough. Unless witnesses come forward and make a statement, the suspect will go free.
"They have the car," Sharon Carroll, Smith's mother, said. "They know the car was the one that hit him. They can place him in the car before it happened and after it happened. Not during. They need that information. It's imperative."
Police said the suspect and witnesses are Spanish-speaking and those who know him are reluctant to tell detectives everything they know.
"We know the person we're looking at had talked to several people after this, according to the tips information," Doug Harr with KCPD Traffic Investigation said. "We just need one of the people he talked to directly after the incident."
Smith leaves behind two children who are having a tough time coping with their father's death.
Police said that unless a witness can help them, the suspect will go free on Sunday. Anyone with information about Smith's death should call the Tips Hotline or the police traffic investigation unit at 816-482-8191.
John Pepitone, FOX 4 News
