(DOTHAN, Ala.) On June 28, 2026, just before 2:00 pm, the Dothan Traffic Division responded to a motor vehicle crash with serious injuries at the intersection of South Lena Street and West Lafayette Street. According to reports, a vehicle ran the stop sign and collided with another vehicle going through the intersection. The vehicle that ran the stop sign was a 2016 Toyota Camry driven by a 12-year-old juvenile. A juvenile passenger was ejected from the vehicle after the crash.
As investigators were investigating the cause of the crash, surveillance videos in the area showed the Camry and a 2014 Hyundai Elantra driven by Jadyn Ruth Smith (20) of Daleville were racing through the residential streets prior to the crash. The video also showed the passenger who was ejected sitting on the windowsill of the rear door prior to the crash. The vehicle driven by Smith also had two juvenile passengers sitting on the rear windowsills of the door while engaging in reckless conduct. The video showed the vehicle driven by the 12-year-old run the stop sign and colliding with another vehicle proceeding through the intersection that did not have a stop sign.
The 14-year-old juvenile who was ejected was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries and was later transferred to another hospital in North Alabama, where he remains in critical condition.
As a result of the investigation, investigators charged the 12-year-old juvenile with four counts of Assault 1st degree. The juvenile was placed in the Southeast Alabama Diversion Center. Jadyn Smith was also charged with four counts of Assault 1st degree. Smith was booked into the Houston County Jail with bonds totaling $120,000. The legal guardian of the 12-year-old, Brenda Bragg Raines (72) of Dothan, was charged with one count of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor for allowing the juvenile to take the vehicle with permission. Raines was booked into the Houston County Jail with a $6,000 bond.
The video shows the vehicles operating in an extremely reckless manner and in a manner that showed a complete disregard for the value of human life. Each driver is responsible for the safety of passengers and others on the road when they drive on the streets of the City of Dothan.
-Chief William E. Benny
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