Arrest made in 2013 hit-and-run death of Haley Smith

On the evening of November 16, 2013, Historic City News reported that 15-year-old Haley Nicole Smith went for a walk with her friends. Hours later she was pronounced dead while undergoing emergency surgery for injuries sustained in a hit-and-run crash on Kenton Morrison Road.

Today, Chief Brian Lee told local news reporters that an arrest has been made in this cold case which has received a steady drumbeat of attention over the past three years.

Investigators now say that 29-year-old Tiffany Michelle Higginbotham, who resides at 483 Pomont Avenue in St Augustine, was the driver of the dark colored pickup truck that struck Smith and fled the scene in 2013.

Higginbotham is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for two felony convictions that occurred after Smith was killed; a robbery that occurred in 2014 as well as a three-year prison sentence for leaving the scene of a crash without serious injuries on January 13, 2015. The crimes were investigated by the St Augustine Police Department.

Higginbotham is now facing charges of leaving the scene of a crash with death and she is in custody in the St Johns County Jail.

Haley Smith was a student at St. Augustine High School, a member of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Police Explorers and a former member of The Dazzlers dance team at Gamble Rogers. To learn more about Haley and impact of her death or to show her loved ones your support please visit and like the “Justice for Haley” facebook page.