Former OSU, NFL star slain in road-rage incident

Will Smith, 34, played on Buckeyes’ national championship team

Staff/wire report

NEW ORLEANS

Former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith was shot and killed in a case of road rage by a man who had rear-ended his car, police said Sunday.

Smith was beloved by fans for his role in bringing a Super Bowl championship to New Orleans in 2009, though the defensive captain also found himself at the center of the NFL’s bounty probe in 2012.

Smith’s slaying rippled across the sports world with figures from NBA star LeBron James to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell offering their condolences. James said on Twitter: “So sad man. Good dude he was man!”

Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel coached Smith at Ohio State. The defensive lineman starred on the Buckeyes’ 2002 national championship team.

Tressel said he awoke Sunday morning to find a text from another former player, Mike Peterson, who had been a member of his YSU teams of the late 1980s.

“It said, ‘So sad to hear about Will Smith,’ ” Tressel said. “I said, ‘What’s this about?’ and went on Google and looked up Will Smith. ... It’s surreal to think that this happened.

“Will was such a good kid and a great family man. He was always so humble and such a team guy. Sometimes you only hear about the kids who are having difficulties, but you didn’t hear much about Will because he was always doing the right things. He was the perfect model.”

Earlier Sunday, Tressel tweeted about Smith from his personal Twitter account: “Love & prayers to the Smith family, Buckeye family & Saints family. Our brother Will — humble, caring, selfless family man. We love you Will.”

Mahoning Valley natives Maurice Clarett (Warren Harding) and Doug Datish (Howland) — both former teammates of Smith at Ohio State — also reacted to his death.

Clarett posted a photo of Smith smiling on his Instagram account and tweeted: “I’ll remember my friend/brother like this. He kept a smile on his face. I have too many stories ...”

Datish tweeted: “Have a heavy heart today. I owe him for any success I had as an OL or a leader. #RIPWillSmith.”

There was no indication Smith, 34, knew 28-year-old Cardell Hayes before the deadly confrontation, or that anything except the car wreck led to the shooting. Hayes waited for police to arrive after the shooting and was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder. Police Superintendent Michael Harrison would not say whether Hayes claimed self-defense, citing the ongoing investigation.

A magistrate set bond at $1 million Sunday evening for Hayes.

Harrison said the former defensive end had dined just hours before the Saturday night crash with a police officer who had once been sued by Hayes, whose father was shot and killed by police in 2005. However, it was not clear if that played any role in the confrontation.

Hayes’ Humvee H2 rear-ended Smith’s Mercedes G63 about 11:30 p.m. Saturday in the upscale Lower Garden District, pushing it into a Chevrolet Impala driven by two of Smith’s acquaintances. The two argued, and Hayes shot both Smith and Smith’s wife, Racquel, police said. She was wounded in the leg and taken to a hospital.

The Smith family said in a statement that they were thankful for the outpouring of support but requested privacy as the family grieves for a “devoted husband, father and friend.” Will and Racquel Smith have three children.

The couple had been at the French Quarter festival, an event that features local music and food, in the hours before the shooting. He posted a photo of himself and his wife on Twitter and Instagram with the caption: “Having a blast at the (hash)fqf2016 (at) French Quarter Fest.”

Defense attorney John Fuller asked for low bond, noting that Hayes had waited for police, owns a towing business and is raising his 5-year-old son.

Magistrate Brigid Collins said she understood that, but added, “I’ve also got a gentleman who was shot in the back.”

Online court records show Hayes pleaded guilty in 2014 to one count each of possessing an illegal weapon and possessing drug paraphernalia.

Hayes sued the New Orleans Police Department and six officers after police killed his father in 2005. The former officer who dined with Smith, William Ceravolo, was not present at the time of the crash, police spokesman Tyler Gamble said.

Police settled the lawsuit in 2011. The settlement is confidential, said attorney Ike Spears, who represented Hayes in that suit.

Smith, a native of Queens, N.Y., played for Ohio State’s 2002 national championship team and graduated in 2005 with a degree in criminology.

Ohio State athletics has “lost one of its best” — someone who led a defensive line that powered the team to the championship, the school said in a statement.

“You hurt so bad for his wife and kids, his teammates and the city of New Orleans,” Tressel said.

Clarett tweeted Sunday: “Can’t believe my man got killed like he was out here in the streets. That’s the part that hurts ...”

Smith 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. Smith’s 671/2 career sacks rank fourth in Saints history.

He last played in an NFL regular-season game in 2012. 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.

Off the field, Smith took an active role in trying to improve children’s lives, establishing a foundation called, Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way. Its stated mission is “to motivate, educate and provide opportunities for women and children.”

“The Saints family is hurting and devastated as it has lost a member too young and too soon,” Saints owner Tom Benson said in a statement.