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Story highlights
- Police say they founded a loaded gun in Smith's vehicle and another weapon inside the suspect's Hummer
- Cardell Hayes is charged in Smith's killing; lawyer says Hayes' actions show he's not "an animal ... looking for blood"
- Surveillance video shows a Hummer stopping abruptly, possibly being hit by a Mercedes, on a New Orleans street
New Orleans (CNN)When police first described the slaying of former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith, their account of what unfolded was simple.
There was a vehicle crash, police said, followed by a heated exchange and a deadly shooting after the suspect brandished a gun.
But the story of exactly what happened on the streets of New Orleans on Saturday night is getting more complicated.
The latest clues in the high-profile case: Surveillance footage showing an apparent hit-and-run crash and the discovery of loaded weapons inside vehicles days after police towed them away from the scene.
Footage revealed by CNN affiliate WVUE and another surveillance video obtained by CNN show a Mercedes SUV trailing a Hummer, until the latter vehicle stops abruptly. The Mercedes pulls up quickly, too, possibly hitting it from behind. Both vehicles are a standstill briefly, until the Hummer starts to pull over; the Mercedes, though, goes around and drives off.
A short distance away and a short time later, according to police, an altercation occurred between Smith, in a Mercedes G63 SUV, and Cardell Hayes, in a Hummer H2. This time, it was the Mercedes that was rear-ended, police said.
But Hayes didn't drive off.
And Smith ended up dead.
'Six gunshot wounds to the chest'
Hayes' lawyer insists his client wasn't the aggressor, but the victim of a hit-and-run.
"Someone hit him, the person failed to pull over," attorney John Fuller told reporters. "My client trailed behind this person in an effort to get this license plate number. My client also called 911."
Will Smith, a former first-round pick in the NFL who played for the Saints' Super Bowl-winning team, was shot to death after a traffic incident in New Orleans on Saturday, April 10. He was 34.
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Country music legend Merle Haggard died Wednesday -- his 79th birthday -- of complications from pneumonia at his home in Northern California on Wednesday, his agent Lance Roberts told CNN.
Here Haggard performs in Fresno, California, in 1986.
Here Haggard performs in Fresno, California, in 1986.
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Architect Zaha Hadid, whose designs include the London Olympic Aquatic Centre, died Thursday, March 31, a spokesperson from Zaha Hadid Design told CNN. She was 65. Hadid died of a heart attack in a Miami hospital where she was being treated for bronchitis, according to her firm's press office.
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Actress Patty Duke, star of "The Patty Duke Show," died Tuesday, March 29, at the age of 69. Duke won an Academy Award at age 16 for playing Helen Keller in 1962's "The Miracle Worker."
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Actor James Noble, who played Gov. Eugene X. Gatling in the television series "Benson," died from a stroke on Monday, March 28. He was 94.
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Author and poet Jim Harrison, seen here in 2007, died Saturday, March 26, at his winter home in Arizona. He was 78. His many books include "Legends of the Fall," which was made into a 1994 movie starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins.
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Garry Shandling, the inventive comedian and star of "The Larry Sanders Show," died March 24. He was 66. Shandling's comedy and mentorship influenced a generation of comedians.
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Ken Howard, seen here as Hank Hooper on "30 Rock," died March 23. He was 71. Howard also starred in "The White Shadow" and appeared on many other TV series.
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Malik Taylor, better known to fans as Phife Dawg of the rap group A Tribe Called Quest, died March 23 at the age of 45. He's seen here at center during a performance in 1996. Taylor had long suffered from health issues associated with having Type 1 diabetes. In 2008, he underwent a kidney transplant.
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Actor Larry Drake, best known for his role as Benny on "L.A. Law," died at his home in Los Angeles on March 17, according to his manager Steven Siebert. Drake was 66.
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Frank Sinatra Jr., the son of the legendary entertainer who had a long musical career of his own, died March 16, said manager Andrea Kauffman. He was 72.
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Keith Emerson, keyboardist for the influential progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer, died March 10, according to the band's official Facebook page. He was 71.
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Sir George Martin, the music producer whose collaboration with the Beatles helped redraw the boundaries of popular music, died March 8, according to his management company. He was 90. Above, Martin poses with the Beatles after the album "Please Please Me" went silver in 1963.
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Former first lady Nancy Reagan, who joined her husband on a storybook journey from Hollywood to the White House, died of heart failure on March 6. She was known as a fierce protector of her husband, President Ronald Reagan, as well as a spokeswoman of the "just say no" anti-drug campaign. She was 94.
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Pat Conroy, who used his troubled family history as grist for a series of novels, including "The Prince of Tides" and "The Great Santini," died March 4 at age 70.
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Bud Collins, the legendary tennis writer who was the first newspaper scribe to regularly appear on sports broadcasts, died March 4. He was 86. Collins was beloved for his cheerful and enthusiastic coverage of a sport he covered for almost 50 years.
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Lee Reherman, a former football player and star of "American Gladiators," was found dead on March 1. He was 49 years old.
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George Kennedy, the brawny, Oscar-winning actor known for playing cops, soldiers and blue-collar authority figures in such films as "Cool Hand Luke," "Airport" and the "Naked Gun" films, died February 28. He was 91.
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Tony Burton, who played trainer Tony "Duke" Evers in the "Rocky" film franchise, died on February 25. He was 78.
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Singer Sonny James, who ruled the country music charts for nearly 20 years, died February 22 at the age of 87.
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Umberto Eco, author of the novels "The Name of the Rose" and "Foucault's Pendulum," died February 19 at the age of 84, his U.S. publisher said.
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Harper Lee, whose novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1961, was confirmed dead on February 19. She was 89. Her long-anticipated second novel, "Go Set a Watchman," was published in 2015.
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Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who was the United Nations' sixth secretary-general in the early 1990s, died on February 16. He was 93.
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George Gaynes, the veteran actor best known for "Punky Brewster" and the "Police Academy" films, died on February 15. He was 98.
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Denise Matthews, who fronted the group Vanity 6 but was best known for her collaboration with Prince, died February 15 at a hospital in Fremont, California. She was 57.
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the leading conservative voice on the high court, died at the age of 79, a government source and a family friend told CNN on February 13.
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Edgar Mitchell was the sixth man to walk on the moon and just one of 12 total who have done so. The Apollo 14 astronaut, who was 85, died on February 4.
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Dave Mirra, whose dazzling aerial flips and tricks made him a legend in freestyle BMX, died February 4 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police in North Carolina said. He was 41.
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Maurice White, the Earth, Wind & Fire leader and singer who co-wrote such hits as "Shining Star," "Sing a Song" and "September," died on February 4, his brother and bandmate Verdine White said. He was 74.
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Joe Alaskey, a voice actor who performed such characters as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, died February 3 at the age of 63. The actor voiced many other beloved Looney Tunes characters, including Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat and Plucky Duck.
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At left is Bob Elliott, half of the TV and radio comedy duo Bob and Ray. He died February 2 at the age of 92. For several decades, Elliott and Ray Goulding's program parodies and deadpan routines were staples of radio and television. Elliott was the father of comedian and actor Chris Elliott and the grandfather of "Saturday Night Live" cast member Abby Elliott.
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Paul Kantner, a guitarist in the '60s psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane and its successor, Jefferson Starship, died on January 28. He was 74.
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Abe Vigoda, the long-surviving "Godfather" and "Barney Miller" actor, died January 26 at age 94. Vigoda became famous for his role as the decrepit detective Phil Fish on the television series "Barney Miller," but it was the inaccurate reporting of his death in 1982 that led to a decades-long joke that he was still alive. He played into the joke in late-night television appearances with Conan O'Brien and David Letterman.
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Glenn Frey, a founding member of the Eagles, died at the age of 67, a publicist for the band confirmed on January 18. "Glenn fought a courageous battle for the past several weeks but, sadly, succumbed to complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia," read a post on the band's official website. Frey had been suffering from intestinal issues.
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Dan Haggerty, who played mountain man Grizzly Adams in a hit movie followed by a TV show, died on January 15. He was 74 and had been battling cancer.
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Alan Rickman, the British actor who played the brooding Professor Severus Snape in the "Harry Potter" series years after his film debut as the "Die Hard" villain Hans Gruber, died January 14 after a short battle with cancer, a source familiar with his career said. He was 69.
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Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Monte Irvin died January 11 at the age of 96. Irvin was regarded as one of the best hitters and all-around players in the Negro League, making five All-Star teams. He became one of the first African-Americans to play in the majors, and he played a vital role in the New York Giants' World Series runs in 1951 and 1954.
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David Bowie, whose incomparable sound and chameleon-like ability to reinvent himself made him a pop music fixture for more than four decades, died January 10 after an 18-month battle with cancer. He was 69.
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French fashion designer Andre Courreges, famous for his "space age" designs of the 1960s and 1970s, died on January 7, his family told CNN affiliate France 3. He was 92.
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Pat Harrington, the popular comedian and voice-over talent who made a lasting impact as superintendent Dwayne Schneider on the hit TV sitcom "One Day at a Time," died on January 6. He was 86.
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Producer Robert Stigwood, the creative force behind "Saturday Night Fever," "Grease" and other cultural blockbusters of the 1970s, died on January 4. He was 81.
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Vilmos Zsigmond, the Oscar-winning cinematographer whose varied work included "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "The Deer Hunter," "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and "Deliverance," died on January 1. He was 85.
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Dale Bumpers, a former U.S. senator and Arkansas governor who defended President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial, died on January 1. He was 90.
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Former U.S. Rep. Mike Oxley -- co-author of a landmark anti-corporate-fraud law that bears his name -- died on January 1. He was 71.
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Fuller didn't specify whether Smith -- who not long before had been enjoying a fun night out with his wife and friends -- was the one who rear-ended his client.
Police say the two men did exchange words, after which shots were fired. One person called 911 to report, according to dispatch audio, "there's a male down with about six gunshot wounds to the chest." That referred to Smith. His wife was shot once in the right leg.
Police arrived four minutes later.
They found Smith's body "in the middle of the street, partially inside of his vehicle, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the body," the police report said. "He died at the scene."
Hayes was still there. That he didn't leave -- and, moreover, that he'd secured a witness who was heading out -- is telling, according to his lawyer.
"Now, tell me if that's the behavior that's consistent with someone who's an animal out here looking for blood," Fuller said. "His actions are totally consistent with someone that is complying with a police investigation."
Additional weapons found
New details from the police investigation appeared to add credence to at least one claim by the defense attorney: that Hayes wasn't the only one who had a gun that night.
Detectives found a fully loaded 9-millimeter handgun inside Smith's vehicle on Tuesday morning, police said. Investigators also found a fully loaded revolver inside Hayes' vehicle.
Police haven't said who owned the guns. In addition to the Smiths, another man and woman were inside the Mercedes. And there was also a male passenger in Hayes' Hummer.
"No bullet casings were found inside either vehicle, and no ballistic evidence was recovered to show that either weapon was fired during the incident," police said.
But did those weapons play any role in what unfolded Saturday night? Police haven't said. At least one witness has said he heard two men shouting about having guns before the shooting.
After the Saturday night shooting, police confiscated one gun at the scene: the .45-caliber handgun they say Hayes used to shoot Smith and his wife. Hayes is charged with second-degree murder.
Anger, sadness in New Orleans
The place where Smith's bloody body lay, near the intersection of Sophie Wright Place and Felicity Street, has gone from crime scene to memorial.
There are balloons, flowers and other remembrances. One is a shirt from Smith's alma mater, Ohio State University. Many more items speak to his nine seasons with the Saints, during which time he helped the franchise win its first Super Bowl. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2006 and, the Saints announced Sunday (a month ahead of schedule), recently had been unanimously been picked to join the football team's Hall of Fame.
Gun violence is not new to New Orleans. It's something that Smith himself took note of a few years ago after a stretch of 20 killings in 26 days in the city.
"Please Stop the Violence!" he tweeted.
That same message is among the signs on what's now Smith's memorial. And it's been echoed by his longtime coach, Sean Payton, who called it "madness" that "everyone needs a gun."
"I hate guns," the Saints head coach told USA Today. "I find myself leaning to the right on some issues. But on this issue, I can't wrap my brain around it."
His feelings were heightened by his personal relationship with Smith, who was his defensive captain as a longtime locker room leader. The fact that his three children, William, Lisa Mya and Wynter Chase, will now grow up without a father makes it even sadder, his friends said.
"Mourning the loss of a great friend and teammate, Will Smith," tweeted New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, who like Smith was part of the post-Katrina squad that went on to win Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. "Such a senseless tragedy."
That view was echoed by Nikole Jessie, who used to live down the street from where Smith was shot. That's how New Orleans is, she says: One moment people are out having fun and then, "boom, someone gets shot over nothing."
"It's really, really sad," Jessie told CNN near the memorial site. "You know the Saints are such a part of this city."
'Tragic at every level'
No doubt, the stature of Smith and the Saints has focused the region's attention on his killing, more than other homicides in New Orleans over the years.
But Fuller, the lawyer representing Hayes, urged people -- even if they care passionately about this case -- not to jump to conclusions.
"Whether the victim is famous, infamous, popular, unpopular, black, white, Catholic, Baptist, the law applies equally to everyone," he said. "If the law is applied fairly in this case, I think the results are going to surprise a lot of folks."
Fuller hinted that toxicology tests, results of which should come back in about six weeks, will "absolutely" be key to his client's case.
Whatever police learn in their probe, New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison called the incident a sad one for his city and those involved.
"While this was an isolated incident, it is certainly tragic at every level and on all sides," the superintendent said. "One life is over, and another life is ruined.
"Make no mistake about it: We absolutely don't tolerate this type of behavior on the streets of New Orleans."