Harris County man will go back to jail every year on anniversary of fatal crash
By Jessica Willey
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HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A Harris County man who was driving drunk when he crashed his car and killed his two teen passengers has to go back to jail every year on the anniversary of the deadly crash.
Jaggar Smith, who was 17 at the time of the July 25, 2018 crash, is now 22.
Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies said that he told them he drank a whole MD 20/20 and then drove his two friends, Chloe Robison and Salma Gomez, both 16, before crashing into a tree at a high rate of speed. The teens died. Smith was charged with two counts of intoxication and manslaughter.
In late August, he pleaded guilty. The state wanted a 15-year prison sentence. But this week, Judge Josh Hill sentenced Smith to 10 years probation and 120 days in jail, to be broken up.
According to court records, Smith has to serve 40 days starting on June 15, 2024, and another 40 days on June 15, 2025. Then, on July 25 of every year beginning in 2026 until 2033, Smith is required to turn himself into the Harris County Jail and serve five days. Smith’s driver’s license will also be suspended for a year.
“To force someone to go back to jail year after year is a punishment, and to have to do it on the anniversary of the death of the victims is to prove a point,” Attorney Steve Shellist, who is not involved in the case, said. “So he never forgets what he did.”
Smith’s defense attorney, Chip Lewis, called the sentence “proper.”
“The lives of these beautiful girls should never be forgotten. The Smith family and I hope this case represents a cautionary tale for all the young people of Harris County. If this case saves one life, the tragic losses of life were not in vain,” Lewis said in a statement.
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