A Billings man is struggling to cope after his wife and two children, ages 13 and 10, were killed in a car crash earlier this month 90 miles outside of Denver on Interstate 70.
Watch family and friends remember the three below:
Vernon Smith is the sole survivor of the collision, which occurred while the family was traveling to Arkansas for his mother's funeral.
“I don't know what I can say. I don't have any words,” Smith said at his home in a recent interview with MTN News.
Smith suffered some physical injuries, but nothing compared to the devastation he feels. Now, he is left to navigate life without his loved ones.
“I don't know what I'm doing,” Smith admitted.
Smith recalled his wife, Almira, as his "second chance at life," while fondly remembering their children. He describes himself as her second chance, too. Smith moved to Montana from Hawaii after one of his daughters was killed in a car crash. Almira had lost her husband to a heart problem around the same time. They met at Hardee's in Billings, where Almira worked and Smith would do kitchen repairs.
“Keisha (the 13-year-old) liked writing and knitting... Kyle (the 10-year-old), well, he was good at taking things apart,” he said through tears.
Family photos adorn the walls of their home, showcasing the happiness that once filled their lives.
“They were a good-looking family, and they just radiated happiness,” said family friend Nelson Victoriano.
Smith called Victoriano the "matchmaker", as he was the one who convinced Almira to accept Smith's romantic gestures. Victoriano said one could see the happiness in the children when Smith entered their lives.
Almira was passionate about her plants and cooking, and her kindness inspired many in the community.
“Almira was just a great individual who loved people and gave her heart to everybody she met,” Victoriano added.
The bond Almira formed with new neighbors, Kaleb and Venanz Frome, was remarkable. The two young men moved across the alley from the Smith family to renovate a home.
The brothers said Almira immediately noticed them and figured they needed someone looking out for them.
“We were so grateful we picked the home across from Vernon and Almira. It really changed our lives,” Kaleb said.
Almira welcomed the Frome brothers with open arms, often cooking meals for them.
“It didn't take long for us to be over there almost every day,” Kaleb remembered.
The Smiths became like a second family to the Fromes.
“They could not have loved our boys more if they were born to them,” Beate, the two boys' mother, said.
The loss has left Smith feeling without purpose.
“His purpose was to raise his family and to take care of them, and that's gone now,” Beate noted.
Community members have started to raise money for Smith during this unimaginably difficult time, with a GoFundMe.
“I wish she was coming back,” Smith said, reflecting on a future without his beloved family.
