Former Saints defensive end Will Smith shot and killed in New Orleans
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Smith, 34, shot multiple times in apparent road-rage incident, and police arrest and charge suspect with murder
Former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith was shot and killed Saturday after a traffic accident, and police arrested a suspect in the shooting on Sunday.
New Orleans city coroner Jeffrey C Rouse said in an emailed statement that Smith died of multiple gunshot wounds after a traffic accident in the citys Lower Garden District. The former defensive end was 34 years old.
Cardell Hayes, 28, was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder in Smiths death, New Orleans Police Department spokesman Tyler Gamble said Sunday. Police said Hayes was the driver of a Humvee H2 that rear-ended Smiths Mercedes G63 at about 11.30pm on Saturday. A passenger in Hayes vehicle was questioned and released, he said.
Gamble said the investigation was continuing. Online court records show Hayes plead guilty in 2014 to one count each of possessing an illegal weapon and possessing drug paraphernalia.
Saints owner Tom Benson and family released a statement mourning the loss of a player who had been their No. 1 draft pick in 2004.
The Saints family is hurting and devastated as it has lost a member too young and too soon, the statement said.
The Smith family released a statement through a public relations firm.
On behalf of the Smith family, we are thankful for the outpouring of support and prayers. We ask that you continue to respect the familys privacy as they grieve the loss of a devoted husband, father and friend, the statement read.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell also released a statement offering his condolences to the family.
The former defensive end was driving through an upscale part of the city called the Lower Garden District when his car was rear-ended and pushed into a Chevrolet Impala occupied by two acquaintances of Smiths, police said. The acquaintances were not injured.
Police said Smith and Hayes argued and Hayes pulled out a gun, shooting Smith and Smiths wife. Racquel Smith, 33, was hit in the leg and taken to a hospital. Smith died at the scene.
Smith, a native of Queens, New York, played for Ohio States 2002 national championship team and was a first-round draft choice by New Orleans in 2004.
He led the Saints with a career-high 13 sacks in 2009, when the club won its only Super Bowl. Smiths career sack total ranks fourth in Saints history. He had 457 career tackles, 20 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and two interceptions.
He last played in an NFL regular season game in 2012, finishing his career with 67 { sacks.
During the 2013 preseason, a knee injury forced him onto injured reserve. He was signed in the 2014 offseason by New England but did not make the Patriots regular season roster.
Smith was defensive captain for much of his career, but it was also that leadership role that landed him at the center of the NFLs bounty probe in 2012. The league concluded that Smith and fellow defensive captain Jonathan Vilma helped run a locker-room pool that paid cash bonuses for heavy and even injurious hits.
Smith was initially suspended four games by Goodell, but Smith and three other implicated players successfully appealed their suspensions and were never compelled to miss games, even as Saints coach Sean Payton was suspended the entire 2012 season.
A year earlier, however, Smith did have to serve a two-game suspension that stemmed from findings back in 2008 that he and several other NFL players had used a weight-loss product called StarCaps, which contained a diuretic that had been banned by the league because it was known to mask steroid use. That suspension was enforced after legal challenges the spanned several seasons.
Off the field, Smith took an active role in trying to improve the lives of children in New Orleans. He established a foundation called, Where Theres A Will, Theres A Way, in 2007. Its stated mission is to motivate, educate and provide opportunities for women and children.
After football, he settled in Louisiana, his wifes native state. His shooting came during the weekend of the French Quarter festival, a popular festival featuring local music and food.
Smith leaves behind his wife and three children.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/apr/10/will-smith-saints-shot-killed-new-orleans
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