Gabriella Ortiz, of New Orleans, pauses at a makeshift memorial in the city on Tuesday near the spot where former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith was shot and killed, and his wife wounded by gunfire, after a traffic altercation Saturday.
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A passenger who was riding in the auto with Cardell Hayes the night Will Smith was murdered claims Hayes saved his life by shooting the former National Football League defensive end. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene, his body slumped over the steering column, while Smith’s wife Racquel suffered at least one gunshot wound to the leg.
Police have charged Cardell Hayes, 28, with second-degree murder in Smith’s death. Then, the Mercedes bumps into the Hummer, reverses slowly, then dodges into the opposite lane of traffic to get away while the Hummer pulls over.
Police have said Smith was driving a Mercedes SUV and that Cardell Hayes, the accused shooter, was driving in a Hummer.
The lawyer for a man who was in the vehicle with the person who shot former football player Will Smith says the killing was “justifiable homicide”. Witnesses heard a few angry words, quickly followed by gunfire. Was Will Smith acting like a Saint? Smith died with his feet on the ground and his body inside his vehicle.
Will Smith had a gun in his vehicle on the night of his death.
Defense attorney John Fuller has said Hayes called 911 while following the vehicle that hit him, and was trying to read the license plate number moments before their confrontation. “An additional charge for Smith’s wife’s injury is pending further investigation”, the statement said.
“I know this guy personally, and it’s not really for me to put his personal business on air, because when I came out yesterday and called him a coward, I received death threats from guys in New Orleans, from his relatives”, Mathieu said. “My client has been pilloried, convicted and tried” in the news and on social media, he added.
Other questions remain. Police haven’t released the accounts of Racquel Smith, nor any other witnesses. A remorseful dispute that led to bloodshed, the city of New Orleans grieves the loss of a local father, athlete, and hometown hero in Will Smith.
A core part in the Saint’s 13-3 record and Super bowl XLIV run in 2009, Smith’s presence was essential in providing a pulse for his socially stricken Louisiana team. An individual who inspired progress both on and off the field, Smith brought a vital resurgence of pride in his New Orleans neighborhood.
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Funeral arrangements have not yet been made public.
