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It has been a year since Jim and Mary Smith died together in a car crash on
Faith Road.
And it has been six months since the
18-year-old charged with the fatal collision pleaded guilty in court.
But the pain is still present and
the memory lingers.
Jeff Hager did not want to comment
for this story. His mother, Cherathee Hager, said he still has trouble dealing
with the fatal accident that occurred June 25, 1999.
Hager pleaded guilty to two counts
of reckless driving to endanger four days before Christmas 1999. Judge Ted
Blanton sentencedHager to 60 days in prison and suspended the sentence, giving
the teen-ager a year and six months of supervised probation.
According to the arrest warrant
filed by Trooper K.J. McCray, Hager unintentionally caused the deaths of James
Harold and Mary Benfield Smith by exceeding a safe speed and driving left of
center.
McCray determined Hager to be
driving at a speed “greater than was reasonable and not prudent under the
conditions then existing.”
The accident occurred around 8:30
p.m., in the midst of a thunderstorm. According to the Highway Patrol report,
Hager was traveling 55 mph and the Smiths were traveling 45 mph. The posted
speed limit on Faith Road is 45 mph.
Hager lost control of his truck,
which crossed the center line and hydroplaned. By the point of impact, Hager had
slowed to 45 mph, and the Smiths to 35.
In court, Hager had letters of
recommendation describing his Christian lifestyle, his work ethic and his
remorse.
James Wilson, former senior partner
for J.H. Wilson and Sons Construction of Salisbury, wrote: “I have worked with
Jeff on houses for Rowan Habitat for Humanity. Jeff has generously given of his
time, his equipment and on some occasions even donated his materials and
supplies in the construction of homes for the qualified needy.”
Joe D. Padgett wrote that he knew
both the Smiths and Jeffery Hager. He described the Smiths as “a wonderful,
friendly, Christian couple.”
Friends of the Smiths have continued
to raise money in their honor since their deaths.
“His walk affected a lot of
people,” said co-worker and friend Clifford DeSpain of Jim Smith. “There
were a lot of people, like myself, who didn’t realize how much of an impact
Jim had until he was gone.”
DeSpain is president of the North
Carolina Manufactured Housing Suppliers Council, which Jim Smith helped found.
“Jim was killed the night before
our annual event in Myrtle Beach,” DeSpain said.
That year, the council dedicated the
golf and fishing tournament and banquet to Jim Smith’s memory.
A fund-raiser for the Smiths brought
in $1,400. The council matched that and presented the $2,800 to the Jim and Mary
Smith Scholarship Fund at First Baptist Church.
Donations in the couple’s honor
were also made to the East Rowan YMCA building fund.
Hager wrote letters of apology to
the Smiths’ survivors, including the Sunday school class they taught together
at First Baptist Church.
Hager has completed 200 hours of
community service. He surrendered his license for 60 days and paid $1,292 in
court restitution.
Initially, Hager faced as much as
150 days in prison for each of two counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle.
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