Counting 'em Down: For better or for worse, this is the Headline Surfer countdown of 2021's Top 100 biggest news stories of Central Florida along the tourism-driven stretch of Interstate 4 (Orlando Attractions and east to I-95 & the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona). Each recap segment is posted with its own headline, culminating with the unveiling of No. 1.
Photos for Headline Surfer / ABOVE: Cedrick Williams, 19, shot to death 1:40 a.m. Tuesday, June 29, 2021, at the BP/Circle K at the corner of U.S. Highway 17-92 and 25th Street, in Sanford, Florida. LEFT: Crime scene investigators are shown at the location. BELOW: Another crime-scene pic.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
SANFORD, Fla. -- A 19-year-old driver who crashed into a Sanford gas pump after he was shot in the head died at the scene back in June and the homicide remains unsolved to this day, Sanford cops said.
Sanford police said Cedrick Williams died in the shooting, which was reported at 1:40 a.m. Tuesday, June 29, 2021, at the BP/Circle K at the corner of U.S. Highway 17-92 and 25th Street:
Cops responded to the scene after a flurry of 9-1-1 calls.
"Somebody was just shooting over here," one of the callers told a 9-1-1 dispatcher, according to recordings released by police.
"How many shots went off?" a dispatcher asked a caller. "Nine! Nine shots," the caller said.
Sanford cops said a black Nissan crashed into the gas pumps at a Circle K gas station in Sanford. Williams, the driver, was found unresponsive in the driver's seat. He had been shot in the head. Taken to the hospital, the teen was pronounced dead on arrival.
Sanford cops said a black Nissan crashed into the gas pumps at a Circle K gas station in Sanford. Cedrick Williams, 19, was found unresponsive in the driver's seat. He had been shot in the head. Taken to the hospital, the teen was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police suggest there were multiple people in a second car from which shots were fired. No description of the car or the people inside it has been released.
"Scary, real scary," a man who lives nearby, said, declining g to give his name, adding this is normally a very quiet locale, free of gun violence.
Hours later, the black Nissan was loaded onto a rollback tow truck, the front end badly damaged from the collision with the pumps.
The store reopened as workers tried to get the damaged pumps operating again.
Balloons were placed at the shooting scene; a young life remembered, while investigators work to figure out why life was taken there.
This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information on the shooting death of 19-year-old Cedrick Williams is asked to call the Sanford Police Department or Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.