Daryl Alexander Hill was shot after stopping to help during a confrontation that followed a vehicle crash, authorities said.
APOPKA, Fla. — The wife of a 56-year-old man killed while trying to intervene in a roadside confrontation is remembering her husband as someone whose instinct was to help others, as an Orange County murder investigation moves into court.
Daryl Alexander Hill died after he stepped into an altercation Tuesday morning near Plymouth Sorrento and West Ponkan roads in Apopka, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said a man and woman had been fighting inside a vehicle before it crashed and that the confrontation continued after they got out. Hill, who came upon the scene, tried to help someone who appeared to be in distress and was shot.
Suzanne Hill, his wife of 17 years, told WESH 2 News that her husband was “a small man but larger than life.” She described him as someone who wanted to make people laugh and whose kindness extended to people who needed help. His decision to intervene Tuesday was consistent with the person his family knew, according to her account.
The sheriff’s office identified the man accused in the shooting as 26-year-old Raul Lionel Vazquez. Deputies arrested Vazquez on a charge of second-degree murder. The charge is an allegation, and the case has not been adjudicated. Authorities said Vazquez and the woman involved in the original confrontation remained at the scene after the shooting.
Investigators said deputies began receiving calls at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday about a man and woman physically fighting inside a vehicle. The vehicle crashed near the intersection, and the pair continued fighting outside, according to the sheriff’s office. Hill arrived on a bicycle and attempted to intervene, according to arrest-document details reported by WFTV.
Witnesses told investigators that Hill later tried to get away while calling for help, WFTV reported from the arrest documents. Investigators believe Vazquez shot Hill during the confrontation. Hill was taken to a hospital but died from his injuries. Authorities have not publicly detailed every circumstance that led from Hill’s intervention to the gunfire.
The shooting unfolded during the morning commute and on the first day of school for Orange County students, leaving other motorists close to the scene. One father told local television station WKMG that he was driving his family to school when they encountered backed-up traffic near the intersection and heard a loud noise. He later described his family as shaken by what they encountered.
For Hill’s family, however, the focus has remained on the person behind the police description of a good Samaritan. Suzanne Hill said her husband was someone who tried to make others laugh and was willing to protect people. Her description closely matched the sheriff’s office account that Hill stepped into the confrontation because he believed someone needed help.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said its members were grieving with Hill’s loved ones and offered condolences to his family. Detectives continued examining the circumstances surrounding the crash, the fight and the shooting. Authorities have not publicly announced a motive for Hill’s killing beyond the sequence described in the investigation.
Vazquez was booked into the Orange County Jail and was expected to make an initial court appearance Wednesday, according to local reporting. No confirmed outcome from that appearance was available in the material reviewed for this update. The homicide investigation remains active.
Author note: Last updated August 12, 2026.