Years after a 15-year-old was hit and killed while walking on Kenton Morrison Road, the woman believed to be responsible has been caught.
The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office has arrested 29-year-old Tiffany Higginbotham for leaving the scene of a traffic crash with a death. At the time these charges were filed, Higginbotham was serving a state sentence for a 2015 incident of leaving the scene of an accident with injuries in St. Augustine, as well as a 2014 robbery.
15-year-old Haley Smith was walking on the side of Kenton Morrison Road at night in late 2013 when she was hit by a vehicle that fled the scene. Smith was taken to the hospital, but later died as a result of her injuries.
“The case was investigated very intensely, and with a lot of purpose to assist the family in trying to locate who conducted this crime of leaving the scene of an accident,” says SJSO Chief of Investigations Brian Lee.
Over the last few years, investigators have had bits of information they've released in the hopes it would garner new leads, including paint chips from the suspect vehicle. We're told the major break came from tips that were generated late last year, after the St. Augustine Record ran a story about the cold case, at the request of Smith's family, which was trying to bring more attention to the investigation.
SJSO says Higginbotham’s boyfriend owns a purple 1995 Chevrolet S-10. Paint samples from the vehicle matched fragments that were taken from the victim’s body, according to investigators.
"We hope that the arrest and subsequent prosecution will bring some measure of peace to them [Smith's family], because they've been waiting a long time for this to happen," says 7th Judicial District State Attorney R.J. Larizza.
At this point, the Sheriff’s Office isn’t saying whether Higginbotham has admitted to what happened.
The charging affidavit we’ve obtained in connection to Higginbotham’s prior charge of leaving the scene of an accident with an injury shows she hit a person in the parking lot of a St. Augustine Home Depot. A witness to that crime was able to get the license plate number, which linked back to Higginbotham.
Jail records show that, in addition to the charges she was already serving time for, Higginbotham has been arrested several other times in recent years. An arrest for battery dates back to 2009, with charges connected to larceny, probation violation, drugs, and other batteries since that time.
