Daniel Williams, former drummer for the metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, has died in a tragic plane crash in San Diego. He was one of the passengers aboard a Cessna 550 that went down on Thursday, May 22.
Talent agent Dave Shapiro, 42, who owned Sound Talent Group (STG), was also on the aircraft and confirmed dead. The full number of fatalities has not yet been released.
Just before the crash, Williams posted a series of photos on Instagram Stories from inside the plane’s cockpit. One image read, “Hey. Hey… you… look at me… I’m the (co)pilot now.” Another was captioned “Here we goooooo,” and the last one said, “flying back with @davevelocity,” referring to Shapiro.
Williams, who had left the music industry nearly a decade ago, recently celebrated a new career milestone. On May 14, he announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he had accepted a role as a software engineer at Apple. He wrote, “It’s been really tough to say goodbye to my friends and colleagues of nearly 8 years at GoPro, but it’s time for my next chapter.”
His former bandmates in The Devil Wears Prada paid tribute to him in a heartfelt Instagram post featuring photos from their time together. The caption read simply, “♥️ no words. We owe you everything. Love you forever.”
The band rose to fame in the mid-2000s, particularly with the release of their 2006 album Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord. They formed in Ohio and picked their name before the release of the well-known movie of the same name.
In a statement to Billboard, STG mourned Shapiro’s death: “We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends. Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy. Thank you so much for respecting their privacy at this time.”
Williams’ father, Larry Williams, told TMZ that the family is certain Daniel was aboard the crashed plane and that there were no survivors. However, they are still waiting for official confirmation from authorities.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not yet responded to requests for the names of passengers on the Cessna. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is currently investigating the cause of the crash.
This story is still developing.
