LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nearly seven years ago, Faiss Middle School student Jonny Smith was killed while crossing Fort Apache between Arby and Maule Avenues in the southwest valley.
Over the past year, we've seen tragedies just like it happen all over town, and Jonny's mom is doing what she can to make sure it doesn't happen to more families — while doing some good for the community in his honor.
She shares her story with Channel 13 traffic reporter Guy Tannenbaum:
March 25, 2019, is a day Suzan Smith will never forget. That's when her 12-year-old son Jonny was hit and killed while walking home from school with a friend.
"I don't want anyone to have to go through this," Smith told Channel 13 on Thursday.
February 5, 2026, would've been Jonny's 19th birthday, and Suzan spent it by honoring his memory the same way she has for the past six years — donating $5,000 worth of toys collected in his honor to Sunrise Children's Hospital, where she says her daughter was a patient many years ago.
"I would much rather be celebrating Jonny's birthday with him today than doing this, but it makes me smile, and it makes me happy on a day when I could be very sad," Suzan said. "I choose to be happy over this instead."
In the wake of Jonny's death, Clark County launched a traffic study on Fort Apache near Faiss Middle School, which resulted in a new signal light at Arby Avenue less than a year later.
"I made a promise to Jonny's mom that we would make sure this doesn't happen again," Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones said when the signal was activated in January 2020.
The better signage, traffic control and crossing guards are still visible to this day at Fort Apache and Arby, alongside a memorial sign with Jonny's picture and a message that says "live like Jonny."
"It's nice because I feel like that is saving lives," Smith said. "It was unfortunate that it took a child dying to get these changes."
It's a similar story to what happened near Arbor View High School and J.D. Smith Middle School last year, when traffic safety improvements were added after the deaths of McKenzie Scott and Cristofer Suarez.
"Every time I see a news story, my heart breaks, because I know what that family has ahead of them," Smith said. "It's the hardest road you'll ever have to walk as a parent, having to bury one of your children."
Smith is now a teacher at Faiss, Jonny's school, taking it upon herself to have tough conversations with her students about road safety.
"You can't tell your kid too many times to be safe; it could save their life," Smith said. "We all know kids don't always listen, but if they get enough reminders, then maybe they will be safe — and I do, I see a lot of the students at my school getting to and from school in a safe way."
At the end of the day, Smith says it's on all of us — especially drivers — to keep our students safe.
"My message to the community is let's take better care of each other, and let's look out for kids," Smith said. "They're our future, and we need to protect them."
Smith says even though she delivers the toys to Sunrise Children's Hospital on February 5, she'd gladly take toy donations in Jonny's honor year-round.
If you'd like to help with her mission, you can reach out to me via email at Guy.Tannenbaum@KTNV.com, and I can connect you with her.
You can also reach out to me with any questions, comments or concerns about traffic safety around schools in your neighborhood, as Channel 13 continues our fight for safer streets here in Southern Nevada.
