The former drummer for The Devil Wears Prada, Daniel Williams, has died in a plane crash in San Diego on May 22, 2025. Along with Williams was Dave Shapiro, Sound Talent Group and Velocity Records owner, who also passed due to this tragedy. Williams was 39 and Shapiro was 42. The band paid tribute to Williams and Shapiro on their Instagram with a few photos. “No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever,” said the band in their caption for their post. 

Williams had played for the band for about 11 years, from 2005 up until 2016. On Wednesday night, he had posted pictures of the plane on his Instagram story, sharing pictures from both the runway and the cockpit. Shapiro was an experienced pilot and owner of Velocity Aviation. According to an article by Loudwire, in the crash, two other Sound Talent Group employees were killed due to this accident. “We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,” said a spokesperson for Sound Talent Group. “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.” The tragedy happened around 4 a.m. on Thursday in the Tierrasanta neighborhood, and even though not all of the victims have been named, officials have told Billboard that there were no survivors. There have been several other musicians and people in the rock and metal industry that have shared tributes to Shapiro, Williams and the other victims of the plane crash.