Ex-Saints player Will Smith shot to death in suspected road-rage incident

Officials say former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith, was killed in a barrage of gunfire on Saturday, April 9. His wife Racquel was reportedly wounded in the shooting, which, police say, happened after a minor traffic collision in the Garden District of New Orleans. (Reuters)

Will Smith, a former defensive end who played on the New Orleans Saints‘ Super Bowl-winning team, was shot to death when an argument erupted after an auto accident Saturday night in New Orleans’s Lower Garden District.

Orleans Parish coroner Jeffrey Rouse confirmed for Nola.com that Smith, 34, was pronounced dead at the scene and his wife, Racquel, was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the leg. Smith’s vehicle appeared to have a gunshot hole in the windshield, and his body was was slumped over the steering wheel, according to Nola.com. Cardell Hayes, the 30-year-old driver of the other vehicle, was booked at around 8 a.m. Sunday on a second-degree murder charge. He remained on the scene until police arrived shortly after 11:29 p.m. CDT shooting.

“It appears that it could possibly have been road rage,” New Orleans Police spokesperson Juan D. Barnes Sr. told a press conference (via NBC).

Earlier in the evening, Smith had posted an Instagram photo of him and his wife at the French Quarter Festival. NBC New Orleans’ Fletcher Mackel reported that Smith and his wife were on their way home after having dinner at Sake Cafe, a Garden District restaurant.

The shootings took place shortly before midnight after the Mercedes Benz SUV in which Smith and his wife were traveling was rear-ended by a Hummer H2, authorities told Nola.com. Smith’s vehicle then struck a Chevrolet Impala.

Witnesses told authorities that Smith and the driver of the Hummer “exchanged words, at which time the driver of the Hummer produced a handgun and shot the male victim multiple times,” Barnes said, adding that Racquel Smith was shot twice in the lower leg.

Janis Baehr, a tourist who was in New Orleans for the French Quarter Festival, told Nola.com that she witnessed the crash and heard six to eight shots. “It was a crash, boom, bang,” she said. She then saw a woman lying on the pavement and helped her, giving her ice chips until help arrived.

“I kept her company until the paramedics came because she was screaming,” Baehr said.

Smith’s former teammates were horrified by the news of his death.

“This man had a beautiful family,” Jermon Bushrod tweeted. “His life [was] taken away for nothing.”

His family issued a statement Sunday morning, expressing thanks for the support and prayers they had received. “We ask that you continue to respect the family’s privacy as they grieve the loss of a devoted husband, father and friend,” the statement said.

Smith, a starter on the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV championship team, also played for Ohio State’s national-championship team and was the No. 18 overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft. He played 10 seasons with the Saints, amassing 67.5 sacks. His career ended when he tore a knee ligament in a 2013 preseason game. Smith was one of four players initially suspended during the team’s BountyGate scandal, but his four-game suspension (as well as those given the other players), was overturned on appeal in 2012. He signed aseven-year, $63-million contract extension with the Saints in 2008.

In addition to his wife, Smith is survived by two sons and a daughter. Racquel Smith, who married Will in 2008, posted this photo of two of the children from a recent vacation:

By early Sunday morning, his former teammates and other NFL players were reacting to the news of Smith’s death and remembering a popular player.