Sanford Restaurant Owner Seriously Injured in Daytona Bike Week Crash

Shantell Williams, the chef and owner of Shantell's Just Until Restaurant & Lounge in Sanford, is facing months of recovery after a motorcycle crash on International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach left her with shattered bones, multiple surgeries, and hardware implanted throughout her body.

Williams said the crash happened on March 4, after she left a gas station and turned onto International Speedway Boulevard during Bike Week. A driver pulled directly into her path. "I remember hitting the passenger side door," she said. The impact launched her off her motorcycle. "The cop told me I was thrown 20 feet," Williams said. She remembered the moment she hit the pavement: "I remember landing and knowing I need to make my body as limp as possible."

Her daughter, Sadiqa Muhammed, described the surgical toll in stark terms. Doctors placed two plates in each of Williams' shoulders, two rods in her right arm, and one rod in her left. Some injuries were beyond surgical repair. "They couldn't do anything about the shattered breastplate and pelvis," Muhammed said.

The night of the crash marked Muhammed and her 15 siblings. "Me and my sister, who is here — both our faces were swollen because we were crying all night," she said. Doctors told the family to expect roughly six weeks of recovery per broken bone and said Williams could not put weight on her legs for about eight weeks. A separate medical estimate cited in reports put the timeline for walking again at three to four months.

Williams herself was characteristically undaunted. Even from her hospital bed, Muhammed said, "She was even trying to make jokes through the pain. She told the cop to take a picture." Williams summed up her own outlook simply: "Let's just say, oh my gosh, I am so blessed to be alive."

Her business partner, Gary Carney, said Williams was working the phones the morning after the crash. "She's bright and shiny and welcoming people," Carney said. He has taken over daily operations at Shantell's Just Until, also known as Shantell's Café, while Williams heals. "Business as usual minus the leader," Carney said. "I am proud to be able to step in and help."

The family launched a GoFundMe to help cover Williams' medical expenses. Muhammed said the community response has already been overwhelming. Bike Week, which draws hundreds of thousands of riders and spectators to Daytona Beach each spring, has a documented history of road incidents involving motorcyclists navigating heavy traffic alongside unfamiliar drivers.

Williams' recovery will keep her away from the kitchen she built her Sanford following around, but Carney and the family intend to keep the restaurant's doors open until she can return.