JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 29-year-old Jacksonville man was killed early Monday when shots were fired from another car into the victim's car on Cassat Avenue, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Erick David Smith's out-of-control car then crashed into a building.
A second man in the car was also hit with gunfire but survived.
Jason Guthrie, 29, was critically injured in the shooting, his father told News4Jax on Monday. Jay Guthrie said the shots were fired after one of the victims smiled at a woman in the other car.
"It’s crazy, really crazy.You can’t be safe in church, a car," Jay Guthrie said. "(There's) not a place to be safe anymore these days."
Guthrie said his son opened his eyes in the hospital Monday, "so that's a good sign, I suppose."
The co-owner of Georgia Distributing Company, which owns the building the car crashed into, said he got a call in the middle of the night about the accident.
"(I) came down around 4:30; this is what we see," Trent Thigpen said.
The crash closed all lanes of Cassat Avenue from Highway Avenue to Interstate 10 for almost 10 hours while the shooting and crash were investigated and cleared.
People who live and work in the area said the area is not one of the better sides of town.
"A few months ago, remember, the guy got shot at the McDonald's down here," Eddie Ackley said.
Anyone with information about the second vehicle is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.