Missouri Tower Dies during Driving Incident
Sixty-two-year-old tower Roger Smith of Albany, Missouri was pronounced dead after his tow truck went off the road. It was reported that the cause was tire failure. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Smith was five miles from Albany, heading eastbound on Highway 136, before the truck went off the north side of the highway and overturned onto its top. His tow truck was demolished.
His older brother Robert Smith, who owns Raymond Smith Body Shop and is the fire chief in the community, believes that his brother's death was possibly a coincidence. He said, "I think he just had a heart event. Because he never fought it at all. There were no skid marks. I believe he was gone before he left the highway. When the tire blew, it was like he made a hard left turn. He went down an embankment that you could have driven down." Roger was an wrecker operator since he graduated from high school in a family business that was started in 1953 by his father Raymond. Robert said, "He was quite a bowler, with four 300 games. If you wanted competition, he could provide it. We have wonderful memories. He had millions of friends. At his service, people got up and spoke of him. It was a real comfort. We had some local towers there with their tow trucks. Everybody was blessed."
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