Riverside Police Department Press Release

Riverside, Ca-  On May 15, 2002, at approximately 11:00 A.M., Pastor Smith was walking westbound on the north sidewalk of Arlington Avenue near Sweetwater Drive. A vehicle traveling westbound Arlington Avenue drove onto the sidewalk and hit Pastor Smith. The vehicle drove back onto the roadway and continued westbound Arlington. Around the same time and within close proximity, a witness followed an erratically traveling small truck westbound Arlington into the City of Norco, where she lost sight of the vehicle. The witness returned to Riverside and then discovered the accident. Pastor Smith was transported to a local hospital and later died of his injuries.

The suspicious truck leaving the area at the same time of the accident is described as an older model small truck, possibly a Nissan, gold or beige in color with a license plate similar to 2W40114. The driver of this truck is described as a white male in his mid 30’s with short brownish colored hair wearing a baseball cap. He appeared to have a slight build.  

Darwin Kenneth Smith was a long time resident of Southern California and Riverside. As a child actor, his stage name was “Darwood Kaye” and he starred as “Waldo” in the popular comedy series “Our Gang.” He also starred in 22 episodes of “The Little Rascals.” He attended La Sierra University and was ordained as a Seventh-day Adventist minister. After serving in many local churches, he retired in 1994.

On August 13, 2002 the Riverside City Council approved a $10,000 reward for information leading to the identification and apprehension of the suspect(s) responsible for the death of Pastor Darwin Kenneth Smith, 72, of Riverside.

Anyone with information relating to this incident should immediately contact Detective Dan Reeves at (909) 826-5577.