· · · · ·  Two years later, the young man convicted of crimes in the crash is in prison.

It would be comforting to be able to say the Smith family is on the road to recovery, that the two injured children are past the worst of it.

For Utahns who heard about the tragic crash and the "Buddha story," there might be consolation if they knew that memories of the boy at the center of the Smith world are still crisp but that the family has moved forward since the accident.

That is not the case.

"It ruined me," said Liza Smith, the children's mother. "I lost everything I have."

Tossed in a sea of medical, financial and educational troubles, the family struggles.

Autumn is 11 now. She is walking again.

Thirteen-year-old Desi's teeth have been repaired and are covered by rows of braces. Little Dominic is old enough now to have grown into some of his big brother's clothes. The three have a new baby sister.

Time has passed. Everyone has been to counseling.

But the deteriorated state of those involved in this crash demonstrates the profound impact of an event 3rd District Judge Stephen Roth called "the result of willful and wanton conduct."

 · · · · ·  "It is not reasonable, it is not prudent for the defendant to drink himself drunk and get behind the wheel of a car. It is not reasonable, it is not prudent to engage in a 45-minute vehicular rampage in a neighborhood in Magna. ..."

— 3rd District Judge Pat Brian defending his decision to bind Jacques over to trial on the harsher second-degree automobile homicide charge that requires "criminal negligence" rather than "simple negligence" for a conviction.

 · · · · ·  It is unclear what triggered the fatal chain of events Oct. 25, 2003. That night on television, the Florida Marlins upset the New York Yankees in Game 6 to become the 2003 World Series champions.

But Tory Lee Jacques, 21, wasn't watching television. According to interviews, court documents and police reports, Jacques spent the night drinking beer, racing around in his mom's car and growing increasingly agitated.

The partying started about 6 p.m. at Jacques' house on Centennial Road in Magna when Jacques, his best friend, Michael Star, and some other friends got together for beers and roughhousing. A little later, they made a quick trip to the Reams grocery store, and Jacques bought a 12-pack to share with his friends, who weren't legally old enough to drink.