Haley Smith, Former 'American Idol' Contestant, Dead At Age 26

Former “American Idol” contestant Haley Smith died in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in Maine last weekend, according to reports. She was 26.

Millinocket police theorized in a statement that “she failed to negotiate a sharp turn and crashed,” Variety reported .

Her father, Mike Smith, told TMZ that he believed a deer might have caused the accident. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene in the early hours of Saturday.

“American Idol” posted its condolences on Tuesday.

In 2012, Smith’s a cappella version of Rufus and Chaka Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good” impressed the judges at her Colorado audition. Randy Jackson praised her for making the song her own, but Aerosmith frontman Tyler offered the biggest compliment of all.

“I love your voice so much,” he told her, as seen in a video of her performance below. “You’re right out of my era and I’m honored to be here listening to your voice.”

Smith did make it to Hollywood on the show but was eliminated in the second round.

According to her Facebook page , she also went by the name Halley Love Hendrickson and worked at a restaurant in Millinocket.

Smith had written that she was in a relationship with Tristan McAvoy, who posted a tribute to her.