Mass scheduled for Fort Worth homeless man killed in crash

January 29,2017

By Domingo Ramirez, Jr.

A weekday Mass has been scheduled for a downtown homeless man familiar to many who was killed last week on Jacksboro Highway as he rode his bicycle to pick up his dog from a friend.

The Mass for Frank Smith, 58, is at 7 a.m. Feb. 8 at St. Patrick Cathedral, 1206 Throckmorton St.

A small street memorial for Smith and his little dog, Buddy, has gone up at the southeast corner of Seventh and Throckmorton streets where the two entertained downtown workers and visitors.

The memorial includes lilies and red roses and a poster with a photograph of Smith and Buddy.

One message left with flowers says, “I’ll miss you Frank. I know you’re safe now.”

Friends said Smith was hospitalized Jan. 19 at John Peter Smith Hospital. A friend took care of Buddy and the two were to rejoin at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday.

Patrol officers responded to an accident call about 6:30 a.m. in the 1100 block of Jacksboro Highway. Smith was riding his bicycle in the southbound traffic lane. The driver of an SUV also headed south did not see the bicyclist and hit him, police said.

Smith died at JPS shortly after the accident.

Friends of Smith are taking care of Buddy.

Like many homeless people, Smith’s life was not crime-free. He was convicted of sexual assault of a teen in New York in the late 1990s and served seven years in prison, according to Texas Department of Public Safety records.

For that, Smith had to register as a sex offender in Texas.

He also was arrested in Harris County in 2010 and charged with possession of a controlled substance, according to Harris County criminal court records.