Officer Thomas Smith Jr., age 23, was killed on December 5, 1997 at 12:20 AM, while assisting another officer with an automobile accident on I-55 south of Butler Hill. Officer Smith was standing on the shoulder of the highway with one of the drivers in the accident when both he and the other driver were struck and killed by an approaching van. 

Officer Smith became the eighth St. Louis County police officer to give his life in the line of duty.

Officer Smith was born on March 21, 1974. He had just begun his third year as a St. Louis County police officer. He served in the Divisions of Operational Support and Patrol. He received numerous awards, commendations and many letters of thanks from citizens he served. His father was a St. Louis County police officer for 23 years at the time of the accident.