A Florida father of three was killed after authorities say he stepped in to stop a roadside fight just moments after dropping off his 10-year-old daughter for the first day of school.
Daryl Alexander Hill, 56, was allegedly shot and killed by 26-year-old Raul Vazquez around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in Apopka, Florida, after trying to break up the daylight confrontation, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Vazquez and a woman had been arguing inside their pickup truck when the vehicle crashed into a black SUV, and the dispute then moved onto the roadside, an arrest affidavit reviewed by The Apopka Chief said.
Hill was riding his motorcycle after dropping his daughter off at Wolf Lake Elementary School when he noticed the fight and went over to intervene.
A struggle followed involving Hill and the couple, and they fell into nearby bushes before the father attempted to get away from the scene.
Vazquez then allegedly retrieved a gun from his vehicle and shot Hill in the back as stunned witnesses looked on.
“Help,” Hill cried out before he was shot.
Ryan Harper, who was taking his children to school at the time, told WKMG he heard a “loud bang” and then saw a body lying in the road.
“It’s pretty traumatizing for us all,” he said.
“Mr. Hill was simply trying to help someone who appeared to be in distress,” Orange County cops said as they revealed Vazquez had been arrested on a second-degree murder charge.
Hill’s wife of 17 years, Suzanne, was tracking his location on her cell phone when he was shot – and the lack of movement raised concern.
“When his phone remained in the same position for an hour and he didn’t answer, I went home to check on him, and I saw the crime scene unit,” she told WESH.
“I didn’t see the scene, thank God, but I saw the detectives and confirmed my worst nightmare.”
Hill was pronounced dead at a local hospital less than an hour after the shooting.
Suzanne has led the tributes to her late husband – who was also a dad to two adult children. Orange County cops described him as a “Good Samaritan.”
“He was just an incredible, kind, giving, caring, loving person to everybody,” she told Spectrum News.
“Friend, family and stranger: he cared for everybody and helped everybody and always stepped in, which I think is ultimately what took his life.”
Family friend Camil Reyes described Hill’s killing as a “reflection of the kind of person he was and the heart he had for others.”
“Daryl was loved by so many,” Reyes wrote on a GoFundMe profile. “He had a contagious personality, an incredible sense of humor, and a way of bringing laughter and joy to the people around him. His presence will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and everyone whose life was touched by knowing him.”
Maria Vasquez, the Orange County Public Schools superintendent, described Hill as a “ray of sunshine to his family and those around him, active in the school community and quick to help with any request.”
“To lose a family member so suddenly and tragically is extremely difficult, especially for his family and friends,” Vasquez said.
Vazquez is being held in Orange County jail, where he faces a second-degree murder charge. The alleged killer, seen wearing a white prison suit during his perp walk, scowled as he was led to a car.
His rap sheet includes two previous arrests for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, but his bond was revoked.
