Kimberly Caldwell, a fellow Season 2 contestant on American Idol, posted this photo of herself and Rickey Smith on Instagram. “He was one-of-kind,” she wrote. “I have never met anyone that could brighten your world like he did … He made everyone around him feel so special and loved.”
Smith, 36, was killed Friday morning in a crash in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The Oklahoman reports that Smith was eastbound on I-240 when a westbound pickup driven by Gerardo Cerda Jr., 27, crossed the center line and struck Smith’s Honda Accord.
Smith, who placed eighth on Season 2 of American Idol, was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash is still under investigation, and the newspaper reports that the Oklahoma County district attorney’s office will decide if Cerda will be charged.
Shortly after his death, a GoFundMe page was launched with a goal of raising $10,000 toward “the costs associated with funeral arrangements and specifically to help alleviate accruing costs during this time for Rickey’s family, girlfriend, and little daughter.”
As of 8:30 p.m. Saturday, more than $10,300 had already been donated by more than 240 contributors. Obviously, contributions are still being accepted.
Meanwhile, Smith is being fondly remembered by the American Idol community.
Simon Lythgoe, producer of the show’s first six seasons told Billboard that during that time “we auditioned hundreds of thousands of people. Without hesitation, I can say that Rickey Smith was the funniest, bubbliest and genuinely most hilarious contestant we ever had on the show.
“He had a huge heart and was always the life of the party. Looking back, Rickey had a great attitude toward life and believed it was his mission to make everyone smile — and he did!”
Saturday, Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken tweeted: “I know he’s already singing loudly in Heaven and waking up the other angels with his beautiful voice.” He sent out another tweet encouraging people to check out the GoFundMe campaign. And another that included an on-stage photo from the Season 2 summer tour.
“We were actually supposed to look serious during this part of the Idol tour in 2003,” Clay wrote. “Rickey couldn’t do it. I’m truly not sure Rickey’s face was physiologically capable of not smiling. He was ALWAYS smiling.”
Smith didn’t release music post-Idol, but after returning home he volunteered with music programs at the school district from which he had graduated in 1996.
In fact, he had volunteered this year, Stacey Boyer, director of community relations for Midwest City-Del City Public Schools, told The Oklahoman.
“It’s a very, very sad loss for the schools,” she said. “He’s been helping kids for years.”
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