‘American Idol’ Contestant Haley Smith Dies in Motorcycle Accident at 26

BreAnna Bell

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Haley Smith, who appeared as a contestant on “American Idol” in Season 11, died in a motorcycle accident in Maine this weekend, police confirmed to Variety. She was 26.

Millinocket police responded to the single-vehicle accident at 2 a.m. on Saturday. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. “It would appear initially that she failed to negotiate a sharp turn and crashed,” a statement from the Millinocket Police Department said. An investigation into the crash is pending.

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Smith impressed “American Idol” judges in 2012 with her rendition of Rufus and Chaka Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good” in her Colorado audition at the age of 18. She earned a ticket to Hollywood, but was ultimately sent home from the competition in the second round. She was a self-described lover of nature who worked a series of odd jobs at the time of her audition, she revealed in her interview. Steven Tyler, then a judge on the show, told Smith, “I love your voice so much. You’re right out of my era and I’m honored to be here listening to your voice.”

Smith’s father told TMZ, which first reported the news, that his daughter was an experienced motorcyclist and believes a deer was the cause of the accident. Smith would’ve turned 27 in November.

Revisit Smith’s “American Idol” audition below.

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