The death surrounding former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith continues to take further twists and turns.
After what seemed to be a tragic case of road rage, more details continue to come out regarding the confrontation between Smith and the man who allegedly killed him Cardell Hayes.
According to the Washington Post, witnesses are now being cited saying they heard Smith mention to Hayes that he had a gun before Hayes ultimately shot and killed Smith:
A witness can be heard describing the incident, which began after a Hummer driven by Cardell Hayes rear-ended Smith’s Mercedes and the drivers of the two cars exchanged words. The witness relates, “I guess this guy was like, ‘Get out of here or I have a gun.’ And he goes, ‘[Expletive] y’all, I’ve got one, too.’ And he grabs the gun and then he shoots him in the back – dead.”
In the wake of the shooting and continued investigation has confirmed that a loaded weapon was found in Smith’s car however it wasn’t shot that night. Haye’s attorney Tanzanike Ruffin recently told NBC affiliate WDSU that his client was acting in self-defense where of which it would seem these latest accounts could help in that angle.
“My client believes that Cardell saved his life.” Ruffin said. “Smith had a gun and was going to shoot it and Cardell may have saved both of their lives … in my mind this is justifiable homicide. Was Will Smith acting like a Saint? This was a hit-and-run that ended up in a tragedy. You’ve got the aggression of two football players, facing off with each other as if they are on the field and you are going to get your point across by any means necessary.”
Additionally, new surveillance video released this week possibly shows Smith’s Mercedes SUV bump Hayes’ Hummer after it abruptly stopped and pulled over to the side. Soon after this video was captured the shooting took place. However it hasn’t been confirmed that these are in fact the vehicles belonging to Smith and Hayes.
However this case continues to get more complicated.
Earlier that night, Smith was reported to of had dinner with Bill Cervalo, a former New Orleans police officer who was a defendant in a wrongful death suit brought against the City by Hayes over the 2005 shooting of his father. That case was eventually settled in 2011 for what was described as a ‘large sum’.
Could there be a connection between Smith’s dinner with Cervalo and shooting later that night? How about the fact that Smith’s wife was also shot in the leg?
Either way, someone lost their life and now three kids are without their father which is the truly the saddest part about this ordeal.