Country music singer Conner Smith has given a detailed and emotional account of the profound grief he has endured, six months after he was involved in a fatal road accident in Nashville.
A Life-Changing Moment in June
The 25-year-old artist opened up about the traumatic incident during a recent appearance on The Upload with Brooke Taylor podcast. The accident occurred on June 8, when Smith was driving his Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck in Nashville.
His vehicle struck 77-year-old Dorothy Dobbins as she was walking within a marked crosswalk. Dobbins was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Hospital, where she later died.
"It was so out of nowhere," Smith recalled, describing the sudden and devastating impact. "Just in a moment, your entire... like a tornado runs through your house, and there's so much grief and there's so much trauma from that intense, intense trauma."
Retreating into Darkness and Isolation
The singer, known for songs like Creek Will Rise and Take it Slow, spoke candidly about the "darkness" that engulfed him in the aftermath. "There's a darkness in that, you just can't, there's no words, right," he said.
To cope, Smith completely withdrew from public life. He and his wife, Leah Thompson, retreated to his parents' property south of Nashville. In a significant step, he placed his phone in a drawer for an entire month, cutting off contact with the outside world to process his trauma.
"I didn't have a phone for a month because it was so traumatic. And I just locked myself... I was at my parents' house," he explained, calling the family support a "blessing."
Finding Solace in Faith and Family
Smith made his first public return to the stage on July 31 at the Grand Ole Opry. During that performance, he shared with the audience how his Christian faith had become his anchor.
"I’ve found in the darkest of moments, the Lord is so much closer than ever before," he told the crowd, as reported by Fox News. "He was better than I could ever imagine every step of the way... He was kinder than I could ever imagine. He was more of a defender than I could ever imagine in my heart."
Following the accident, police issued Smith a misdemeanor traffic citation for Failure to Yield the Right of Way Resulting in Death. Investigators found no evidence of impairment or distracted driving at the time of the collision.
Looking to the Future
During the podcast interview, Smith also addressed questions from fans about his return to music and social media. He indicated his comeback would be guided by his faith.
"There's been so many people asking me, 'Man, when are you gonna get back and post on socials? Put out music again,' and it's like, 'When God tells me to,'" he revealed.
He expressed feeling a "place of peace" and anticipates creating new music "really soon," but stressed it was about divine timing, not his own schedule.
Back in July, Smith released a statement on Instagram, expressing his broken heart and ongoing grief. "Not a day has gone by that I haven’t grieved, prayed, and mourned for Ms. Dobbins and her family," he wrote, asking for continued prayers for them.
