Report: Will Smith's blood-alcohol level 3 times legal limit on night he was shot
Former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith’s blood alcohol level was three times over the legal limit when he was shot and killed April 9 after a car collision with his attacker.
One of two sources cited by the New Orleans Times-Picayune said yet-to-be-released toxicology results put Smith’s level at 0.24 percent. Louisiana’s legal limit is 0.08.
Peter Thompson, an attorney for the Smith family, had previously told reporters that Smith – who was driving before he got in an altercation with Cardell Hayes – was not inebriated on the night of the crash, which took place in New Orleans.
Hayes was arrested on a second-degree murder charge after a fight that ended with Smith being shot seven times in the back and once in the chest, according to the coroner’s report. Police have said that Smith, 34, had a gun in his vehicle the night he and Hayes confronted each other after the car accident but that the gun was never fired. Hayes’ attorneys have not denied that Hayes fired the shots that killed Smith but are claiming he did so in self-defense.
The Times-Picayune reported that it’s unclear whether the toxicology report will be presented during a scheduled Wednesday court hearing for Hayes, who is also accused of second-degree attempted murder for shooting Smith’s wife, Racquel.
