Teary daughters beg for driver who killed their father to surrender in Arlington
Sylvia Smith and Gail Smith Crowe broke into tears Tuesday morning as they stood before reporters and repeatedly begged a pickup driver who is accused of killing their father in January to surrender.
The hit-and-run driver has been on the run for 46 days since he killed 80-year-old Roy Smith, who had just stepped out of his Arlington home to check the mail.
“I don’t see how you sleep at nights,” Sylvia Smith said in a news conference as Arlington police asked for help to identify the driver. “You’re going on like nothing happened.”
On Tuesday morning, Arlington police released a home surveillance video of the pickup truck after the collision that killed the elderly man on the afternoon of Jan. 30. Police hoped someone would recognize the owner of the truck and contact detectives.
“You took our dad,” Gail Smith Crowe said Tuesday morning. “You sped off and didn’t care.”
Arlington police, who voiced frustration over not being able to find the driver, said Tuesday that a reward has increased to $10,000 for information.
The reward offered by Oak Farms Dairy is for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.
Roy Smith’s daughters on Tuesday morning talked about the love they had for their father, who loved to walk around the Arlington neighborhood, enjoyed reading westerns and watched western movies.
“You think an 80-year-old wouldn’t be as active,” Sylvia Smith said. “My dad went to the gym and walked around the neighborhood.”
His daughters described their father as someone had a been a hard worker, going from being a painter at a company to a supervisor.
Smith was hit about 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 30, 2021, in the 900 block of East Timberview Lane in Arlington, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. He may have been struck near his mailbox and dragged down the road, Arlington police said.
Another person driving saw Smith in the road and called police.
Smith’s wife said that he walked outside to check the mail and did not return. When she looked from a window about 10 to 15 minutes later, she noticed police and firefighters a few houses down.
Just days after the fatal accident, Arlington police released a photo of a vehicle of interest. Police want to talk to the driver of a 1999-2002 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Extended Cab. The front right door, hood, and both front left and right quarter panels are a lighter color (possibly primer colored), while rest of the pickup is a darker color.
Arlington police said the driver never stopped, didn’t call police or an ambulance., and he almost caused a traffic accident as he drove away from the scene.
“He’s essentially hidden the pickup truck from the public and law enforcement as well,” said Arlington police Lt. Christopher Cook in the news conference. “In cases like this, it’s going to take a tip. We have no doubt somebody in this community knows who did this. We have no doubt the suspect in this case has probably talked or spoken with people.”
His daughters said the death of their father has devastated the family.
“If you know something, if it’s your child, turn them in. Have some compassion,” Gail Smith Crowe said as she continued to beg the driver to surrender. “Give us comfort.”
Sylvia Smith also begged for the driver to surrender.
“All we want is justice for our dad,” his youngest daughter said. “We will never get to see our dad.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator Joe Shipp at 817-575-8602. A person with a tip can offer it anonymously by contacting Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at 817-469-8477.
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 8:56 AM.
