Conner Smith Breaks Silence on Involvement in Crosswalk Death as He Says His 'Heart Is Broken' for Victim

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Conner Smithis issuing his first statement after he was involved in a fatal car accident in Nashville last month

The country singer accidentally struck and killed 77-year-old Dorothy "Dot" Dobbins, a prominent Nashville attorney, as she was walking in a crosswalk on June 8 and received a misdemeanor citation for his role in the fatal crash on Thursday

"I ask that you continue to lift the Dobbins family up in prayer by name, asking for God's peace to surround them each day," Smith said

Conner Smithis breaking his silence after he was involved in a fatal car accident in Nashville last month.

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In a statement shared to Instagram on Friday, July 11, the 24-year-old country singer wrote that his "heart is broken in a way I've never experienced, and I still struggle to fully process the weight of it all."

"Four weeks ago, I was involved in a tragic vehicle accident that resulted in the loss of a life. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t grieved, prayed, and mourned for Ms. [Dorothy] Dobbins and her family," Smith wrote on Instagram.

"I ask that you continue to lift the Dobbins family up in prayer by name, asking for God's peace to surround them each day," he continued.

Smith, who accidentallystruck and killed 77-year-old Dobbins as she waswalking in a crosswalk on June 8, received a misdemeanor citation for his role in the fatalcrash on Thursday, July 10.

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On June 8, Smith was driving a Chevrolet pickup truck when he hit Dobbins as she was crossing the roadway inside a marked crosswalk, per a releaseshared by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

After the incident, Dobbins was taken to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she later died.

Police issued Smith a misdemeanor citation on Thursday, July 10, following an investigation his lawyer, Worrick G. Robinson IV, confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE.

Smith was charged with a traffic offense - failure to yield resulting in a fatality, a source close to the situation told PEOPLE. As a misdemeanor instead of a felony, the charge underscores a lack of criminal intent, the source noted.

Legacy.com

Dorothy "Dot" Dobbins.

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According to her obituary, Dorothy "Dot" Dobbins was a well-known attorney in Nashville, known for her advocacy for victims of domestic violence. The 77-year-old was one of only twelve women in her class at Vanderbilt Law School in 1971, and later went on to help establish the first domestic violence shelter in the city. She also served as chair of the Nashville YWCA from 1976–1977 and as a member of its board of directors for almost a decade.

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In her retirement years, Dobbins worked as a mediator through the Alternatives to Violence Project, helping to solve legal disputes in schools, aftercare programs, jails, and prisons as well as in no-fault divorces.

The 77-year-old was known as a matriarch in her family and was a beloved a grandmother of four, with her obituary stating: "Each year Nashville has been the gathering place where the extended family comes at Christmastime-some thirty-five people stretching from coast to coast. Dot has been a magnetic force pulling them together."

"Her presence is now sorely missed by them all, but they carry her memory, her love, and her ideals in their heart," the obituary adds. Her celebration of life was held on June 18.

Read the original article on People