Painful odyssey: Family still struggles 28 months after Magna tragedy

Published: Saturday, Feb. 25, 2006 8:51 p.m. MST
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TAYLORSVILLE — Five-year-old Dominic Smith is showing a visitor around his bedroom. There is a family photo wall, artwork, school memorabilia and NBA posters.

"Do you have any pets?" the visitor asks.

"No," the small voice utters. "We used to have a dog, but he died. My brother did, too. His name was Buddha. We used to wrestle."

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My name is: Darius Joseph Smith

My birthday is on: 10-14-97

My family calls me: Buddha

Worksheet from first week of kindergarten at Lincoln Elementary School

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It has been two years and four months since a drunken Tory Lee Jacques blew through a stop sign in a quiet Magna neighborhood and struck four members of the Smith family walking toward McDonald's one Saturday night.

Six-year-old Darius Joseph Smith was killed instantly.

The impact of the crash knocked out his big brother, Desmond. His teeth were broken. Doctors found a fractured leg, damaged knee and a concussion when the 11-year-old boy they call "Desi" arrived at the hospital. The boy's ear was nearly torn from his head.

Story continues below

Buddha's dad, Earl Smith, was knocked unconscious, too. He awoke to see a little body under a sheet.

No one saw Buddha's sister, Autumn, at the accident scene that night until they heard her crying out softly for her teddy bear. The 9-year-old was wedged between the car's front tire and a chain-link fence, her face down in the dirt and her legs twisted horribly right-side up.

She had a broken right femur and a double compound fracture of the left femur. One bone in her lower leg was broken, too, and road rash covered her body. Her spine was injured, and she had swelling and fluid on the brain. She had a concussion, and her front teeth were knocked through her lip.

What is worse, Autumn never lost consciousness. She remembers being hit, being pinned against the fence and being airlifted by Life Flight. She also remembers seeing the small black car that hit her, the flashing lights and the stark sight of a white sheet covering a small figure as the helicopter ascended.

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"I have been drinking, but I'm OK to drive."

Tory Lee Jacques to Salt Lake County sheriff's deputy Michael Lee the night of the crash.

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Photo by KSL-TV

Emergency crews work at the site of the Oct. 25, 2003, accident scene in Magna.

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