Father, stepson die in air crash Fresno bondsman, Edison High student slam into Tehachapis.
By Christina Vance and Doug Hoagland
The Fresno Bee04/20/07 04:59:07
The bodies of a Fresno bail bondsman and his stepson were discovered Thursday in the wreckage of a small plane that crashed the day before in the Tehachapi mountains.
Dick Smith, 73, and Kyle Runciman, 16, were identified Thursday afternoon by the Kern County Coroner's Office. The pair's single-engine plane crashed on a mountain in the Alpine Forest area, said deputy coroner Kelly Cowan.
"We do know it was extremely windy yesterday, and it's been reported it was cloudy up there, too," Cowan said. The official cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The two left Fresno for Lancaster on Wednesday but didn't arrive at their destination. The Civil Air Patrol received a signal from the plane's emergency locator around noon Wednesday and notified Kern County Sheriff's Department officials, Sgt. Ed Komin said.
The county's search and rescue team found the crash scene around 6:45 a.m. Thursday, Komin said. He said the plane went down in a remote forest.
Smith was owner of Dick Smith Bail Bonds and Smitty's Bail Bonds in Fresno, said Barry Pearlstein, a family friend and owner of Lucky Bail Bonds. Smith and Pearlstein's father were partners in the bail bonds business in the 1970s.
Students and staff at Edison High --where Kyle was a sophomore -- remembered him as popular, energetic and fun. He ran cross country, played water polo and wrestled. He also wrote for the school newspaper and played trumpet in the band.
"He was a pretty cool dude," said 16-year-old Shane Thompson.
They played in the band together, and Shane fondly remembered Kyle as unafraid to show off his individuality.
Kyle, for example, would wear different colored socks to school and show them off by wearing a pair of shorts. He also drove a cool car -- a white Mustang -- and he talked a lot about another mode of transportation that was his passion.
Airplanes.
"He bragged about it," 17-year-old Michael Molina said of Kyle's flying. "He was proud of it."
Federal Aviation Administration records show Kyle was certified as a student pilot.
Kyle and his stepdad were flying to Lancaster to take a look at a restored B-17 bomber that was on tour, said family friend Wesley Nelson.
As a pilot, Smith was no amateur. Pearlstein said the crash shocked him because Smith has flown as a commercial and charter pilot.
"I've flown with him several times. You know, there was a certain ease about the cockpit when Dick was flying because he knew what he was doing," he said.
Michael said students sat in stunned silence Thursday when they were told in class about the accident. "No one moved for five minutes," said Michael, who also knew Kyle through band. "We just couldn't believe it. It's too much. You try not to think about it. Then you just try to accept it."
Fresno Unified grief counselors were available throughout the day, and at least 50 to 100 students went to see them, said Edison Assistant Principal Rufus Taylor. Some students wanted to talk with friends. Others needed to walk in the fresh air. Some cried. "Kids process grief differently," Taylor said. "We wanted them to have their space, under supervision, within reason."
The water polo team met for practice Thursday and spent a lot of time talking about Kyle, coach Tim Kahn said. As a player, Kyle was small but fearless. He didn't balk at taking on players who outweighed him by 60 pounds.
But mostly, his teammates remembered all the ways Kyle made them laugh.
"These kids felt like he'd been kind of a joyous part of their lives," Kahn said.
Some Fresnans remembered Smith for his renown as a race car driver. He won several championships, and his racing fame led Fresno to declare a "Dick Smith Day" in 1968.
According to legend, Smith once reached 198 mph in his 427 Cobra. In recent years, Smith occasionally took the gleaming car out for public appearances, a "198" emblazoned on its side.
Smith was one of a number of famed Fresno racers in the late 1960s and early 1970s who captured the teenage imagination of Jon Koobation, the owner of Jon's Bear Club in Reedley.
Koobation said the former racer was sometimes a little gruff and serious about his sport, but he also could be a fun-loving prankster.
As a bail bondsman, Pearlstein said, Smith was a gentleman.
"He always made sure that he ... treated his clients in a way he would want to be treated," he said.
Nelson remembered a time when Smith called him at 1 a.m. to fly with him on a bail bonds call. He was going to Paso Robles to help a woman get her husband out of jail.
Nelson said Smith asked him, "You'd rather fly than sleep, wouldn't you?"
"I said, 'Absolutely,' " Nelson said. "It was just the kind of thing he would do."
The reporters can be reached at
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Father, stepson were fast friendsBail bondsman, stepson liked speed; both died in crash.By Jim Steinberg / The Fresno Bee
04/26/07 04:49:39
Dick Smith
Born: April 7, 1934
Died: As the result of an April 18 plane crash
Occupation: Pilot; owner, Smitty's Bail Bonds
Survivors: Wife, Heather Smith; sons, Kurt and Logan Smith; and stepdaughters, Alexandra and Syndie Runciman
Kyle Runciman
Born: Jan. 9, 1991
Died: As the result of an April 18 plane crash
Occupation: Student
Survivors: Mother, Heather Smith; father, Jere Runciman; sisters Alexandra and Syndie Runciman
Dick Smith, a Fresno bail bond agent, took calls from criminal suspects seeking release from jail but also took calls from the late President Ronald Reagan.The former president needed a lift.
Mr. Smith, who died with his stepson, Kyle Runciman, 16, last week in a plane crash in the Tehachapi foothills, was also a commercial pilot.
He flew Reagan on a charter flight, said Mr. Smith's wife, Heather.
Mr. Smith enjoyed the limelight, his wife said, but didn't flaunt the fact that he was a retired U.S. Army major or that he had flown 15,000 hours. He had also been a candidate for an astronaut's position with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
San Francisco 49ers stars also called Mr. Smith for air transport. He flew Steve Young, the former quarterback, and Jerry Rice, the former star receiver known for his speed.
Mr. Smith moved much faster, in the air and on land. He traveled 202 mph on the ground in his 427SC Cobra as clocked by Ford Motor Co., Heather Smith said. His Cobra world record listed a top speed of 198 mph.
Kurt Smith, a Fresno police officer, recalled that his father passed the qualifying trials for the Indianapolis 500 in the late 1960s but was unable to get a car for the race.
"He was on the short list if a car became available," Kurt Smith said.
He also remembered watching from the top of a trailer with actor and racer James Garner as his father raced at Riverside International Raceway. Kurt Smith also watched with actors Paul Newman and the late Steve McQueen as his father raced.
Mr. Smith won the Daytona Beach American Road Race of Champions in 1967. He was Virginia Hill Climb Champion four times and western U.S. Champion 11 times.
His stepson, Kyle Runciman, had turned 16 on Jan. 9. He already had his driver's license and a motorcycle license, and he planned to attend the Center for Advanced Research & Technology high school program in Fresno, graduate early from Edison High School then study at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Kyle also did volunteer work at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Fresno.
He and Mr. Smith were flying on their way to check out a touring B-17 World War II bomber.
"They were bonded together," Heather Smith said. "Dick and Kyle were best friends. Everything Dick did, Kyle wanted to do."
They went scuba diving together. They rode motorcycles.
Kyle planned to become a registered pilot on his 17th birthday and a commercial pilot on his 18th, his mother said.
Kyle, a two-time city wrestling champion, competed in water polo and forensics at Edison High and belonged to the Frisbee club.
Together, Heather Smith said, her son and husband "just wanted to do it all."
Thomas Fillmore, Mr. Smith's brother-in-law, said this about him:
"The No. 1 thing is what a genuine person he was. He'd pick up the phone, and say, 'Hey, Okie, what you up to?'
"He was world-renowned. Last year he went to Waterford, Ireland. Someone saw his jacket" with an insignia. "He said, 'You're Dick Smith? I carved your trophy.' "
A funeral service for Mr. Smith and Kyle Runciman will be held in People's Church at 10 a.m. today. A reception following burial will be at Holland Park West.
The Smith family requests that any remembrance be sent to Aquarius Aquarium Institute, 5541 Columbia Drive North, Fresno, CA 93727.
The Runciman family requests that any remembrance be sent to Edison High School, care of Mrs. Solis, Financial Tech, 540 E. California Ave., Fresno, CA 93706, proceeds to fund wrestling, water polo and forensics.
The reporter can be reached at
jsteinberg@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6311.Search Archives, or Search News Search Local
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