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Daughter Hopes Father’s Death Reminds Others Not To Drink And Drive

ROGERS (KFSM) — The daughter of the man killed in a car crash early Sunday morning (June 3) in Rogers is urging others to avoid drinking and driving. Jenn...

ROGERS (KFSM) -- The daughter of the man killed in a car crash early Sunday morning (June 3) in Rogers is urging others to avoid drinking and driving.

Jenna Chandler said her father, Jerry Jackson, had just left work when the accident happened.

Police said William Ray Schmidt was speeding down West Walnut Street westbound while intoxicated when he ran a red light at the intersection of 8th street. He collided with the driver's side of Jackson's pickup truck.

Jackson was taken to Mercy Hospital in Rogers where he later died from his injuries.

"He had just gotten off work that morning, he wasn't even a mile down the road from where he worked," Chandler paused. "He had finally gotten off on time, for once."

Chandler said she had planned to spend Sunday with her father since he had the day off.

"My dad was my world. He was always there for me, no matter what," Chandler said. "Anything I needed, he would try to make sure that I had."

According to police, Schmidt failed a field sobriety test and blew a 0.19 on the breath test, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.

Chandler is still in disbelief. "It's just unbelievable that my dad is never coming home," she said.

She and her father held a strong bond.

It's actually because of Chandler's daughter that she has one of the most fondest memories of her dad.

She was on a trip to Silver Dollar City with her father last year. Little did he know that he was about to be a grandpa.

"He kept trying to get me to go on the roller coaster rides with him and I kept making excuses," Chandler said. "I wasn't going to tell him just yet that I was pregnant."

After more pressure, Chandler decided to spill the beans, running to a gift shop to buy her dad a grandfather-themed souvenir.

"He unwraps it and looks at it and he laughs and throws his head back," Chandler recalled "Then, he realizes what it means. You could see the realization in his eyes, and he goes 'Really?' He gets so exciting and he started crying."

It's memories like those Jenna will now have to hold onto.

As for the man blamed for changing her life: "He took a life that didn't need to be taken," Chandler said. "My dad will never get to see his granddaughter grow up, and that hurts."

A GoFundMe page has been started to help Chandler and her family cover funeral expenses.

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