Ex-New Orleans Saints player Will Smith was shot and fatally wounded in a road rage incident. A preliminary autopsy report revealed that the ex-NFL player was shot seven times in the back and once in the chest. Smith was shot by Cardell Hayes after an apparent road rage incident. His wife, Racquel Smith was also shot in both legs.
New Orleans coroner Jeffrey Rouse shared that seven of the gunshot wounds "were penetrating in nature." Will Smith's death was ruled as a homicide and Cardell Hayes was charged with second-degree murder. All bullets have been recovered at the crime scene.
"One of these wounds was a perforating wound, with both an entrance and an exit wound. This bullet entered the left upper back, traversed soft tissue, and exited from the right shoulder area," Rouse said as reported by ESPN.
It was reported that Cardell Hayes first shot Racquel Smith on both her legs and then Will Smith. New York Daily News reports that Hayes was without remorse as he stood over Smith's dead body as the wife crawled away to ask for help.
Man. The #Saints community has lost former DE Will Smith to gun violence. Another tragedy. Deepest condolences. #RIP https://t.co/rGBUeKjJe8
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 10, 2016
The road rage incident was incited after Hayes was angered after Smith's car bumped into the former's car. The couple drove away after they allegedly surmised that there was no damage in Hayes' car. However, the alleged killer caught up to the couple and bumped his car to theirs which resulted in the heated debate and then the shooting, according to the Smith's lawyer Peter Thomson.
However, the other camp has another version of the story. Hayes' attorney, John Fuller, said that his client is a cover-up victim. He said in a statement that Cardell Hayes is not guilty and believed that the evidence has been messed with, NBC News reports. Fuller won't go into details but he states that Hayes was "protecting himself" after an apparent hit-and-run with the Smiths.
What do you think of the stories of the two sides? Is Cardell Hayes protecting himself as a victim of hit-and-run or was Will Smith murdered in cold blood? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
