The Devil Wears Prada founding drummer Daniel Williams and veteran music agent Dave Shapiro among fatalities in San Diego plane crash

Daniel Williams, founding drummer of The Devil Wears Prada and Dave Shapiro, a veteran music agent, have died in a fatal plane crash in San Diego.

Williams was aged 39, and Shapiro was aged 42. The Devil Wears Prada have shared a brief tribute to Williams, who departed the band in 2016. Sharing pictures of Williams, as well as Shapiro (who represented The Devil Wears Prada), the band wrote: “No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever.”

Shapiro, an esteemed music agent in the alternative music scene and founder/owner of the Sound Talent Group, was the first fatality to be confirmed after a small plane crashed into Tierrasanta neighbourhood in San Diego on Thursday (May 22).

“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,” a spokesperson for Sound Talent Group said in a statement to Billboard, confirming his death. “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.”

Daniel Williams was later confirmed as another fatality on the flight. Prior to the crash, he shared pictures of the plane on social media and tagged Dave Shapiro, as well as posting pictures of the cockpit.

Billboard also reports that Dave Shapiro was a seasoned pilot and was the owner of the Velocity Aviation company, through which he offered pilot instruction. It is currently unclear if Shapiro was piloting the plane during its crash.

While the plane was carrying other passengers at the time of the crash, other fatalities have yet to be confirmed at the time of writing. The plane crashed into the Tierrasanta neighbourhood, reportedly destroying one home and injuring eight people on the ground. Of the eight injured, one person was transported to a hospital for treatment.

Daniel Williams co-founded The Devil Wears Prada in 2005 and performed on their first five albums, ending with 2013’s ‘8:18’. He was known for hits like ‘Dogs Can Grow Beards All Over’, ‘And The Sentence Trails Off…’, ‘HTML Rulez D00d’, ‘Hey John, What’s Your Name Again?’, ‘Danger: Wildman’, ‘Dez Moines’, ‘Constance’, ‘First Sight’ and more.

Following his departure from The Devil Wears Prada, Williams became a software engineer and worked at GoPro, but earlier this month posted about a new job role at Apple.

Drummer Luke Holland wrote in tribute to Williams after news of his death: “I just FaceTimed Daniel, what a devastating loss. RIP Daniel Williams. We did a bunch of tours together & when I was the super ‘young guy’ on the road, he always treated me really well.”

The Word Alive shared a tribute to both Williams and Shapiro, writing: “Dave was one of the most influential and positive forces in our music scene and beyond, and Dan was one of the most influential and positive forces behind the kit. RIP.”

RIP to our friends Dave Shapiro, Daniel Williams and the others involved in the plane crash this morning.

Dave was was of the most influential and positive forces in the our music scene and beyond, and Dan was one of the most influential and positive forces behind the kit RIP

— THE WORD ALIVE (@TheWordAlive) May 22, 2025

Dave Shapiro was a well-known and beloved music agent, who has represented the likes of Sum 41, Pierce the Veil, I Prevail, Set it Off, Story of the Year, Silverstein, Parkway Drive, Northlane, The Amity Affliction and more.

Hanson – for whom Shapiro was a booking agent – have paid tribute: “Dave was fearless in life, and tireless in his work, and the kind of friend you would want on your speed dial. Dave seemed to always be working on a new endeavour, or to be going on a new adventure, because he was always exited for a new challenge. We are grateful for the 15 years we knew him.”

Today we are all mourning the tragic loss of our longtime friend and booking agent Dave Shapiro. Dave was fearless in life, and tireless in his work, and the kind of friend you would want on your speed dial. Dave seemed to always be working on a new endeavor, or to be going on a… pic.twitter.com/HO7cm8Aew0

— HANSON (@hansonmusic) May 23, 2025

Slipknot’s festival brand KnotFest wrote: “We’re heartbroken over the tragic loss of our friend and colleague Dave Shapiro. The magnitude of this loss is beyond words & overshadowed only by Shapiro’s spirit & legacy.”

We’re heartbroken over the tragic loss of our friend and colleague Dave Shapiro. The magnitude of this loss is beyond words & overshadowed only by Shapiro’s spirit & legacy.

Extending our deepest condolences to Sound Talent Group and all of the families who lost a loved one. pic.twitter.com/9unRqC4K9K

— KNOTFEST (@KNOTFEST) May 22, 2025

Fit For A King’s Ryan Jospeh Kirby spoke on Shapiro’s impact: “People don’t understand how much of an impact Dave Shapiro had on the alternative music scene. RIP, you truly made this scene a better place, it’s going to be really hard without you.”

People don’t understand how much of an impact Dave Shapiro had on the alternative music scene. RIP, you truly made this scene a better place, it’s going to be really hard without you.

— Ryan Joseph Kirby (@ryankirbz) May 22, 2025

Drug Church also honoured Shapiro on social media and said that they will be cancelling their upcoming shows with Liquid Mike this month.

This is a developing story

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