Family of teen killed in 2013 St. Augustine hit-and-run relieved after arrest made

Monday brought a sense of closure for St. Augustine parents whose 15-year-old daughter was killed by a hit-and-run driver four years ago.

St. Johns County deputies arrested Tiffany Higginbotham in the 2013 death of Haley Smith.

Action News Jax found that Higginbotham has a long rap sheet, including more than a dozen arrests and charges in St. Johns County.

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In 2013, Haley was walking home with friends on Kenton Morrison Road and was the one closest to the road when Higginbotham made contact, and didn't stop.

Ever since Haley was killed, there's been uncertainty and confusion for her family.

"Not knowing who or why, that's the biggest thing. That's what I want to understand. Why? Why couldn't you stop?” asked Jo-Lee Manning, Haley’s mother.

We were there Monday as law enforcement officials announced new information and a break in Haley’s case.

Higginbotham was already in jail serving a three-year state sentence for robbery and leaving the scene of another crash in 2015.

That's not all. We found more than 10 other mugshots in St. Johns County for arrests including battery, drug possession, larceny and probation violation.

Each scenario, it looks like she served her time, then was released.

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Manning said she's not surprised Higginbotham left her daughter, but hopes she changes her life around for the better.

"I think it kind of goes hand in hand with her lifestyle. And you know, she had gotten away with a major hit-and-run, and she thought she could do it again," Manning said.

A Crime Stoppers sign sat next to Haley’s memorial for years, but Monday, we watched as Haley’s family took it down and said it's no longer needed.

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