Road rage victim 'lived for daughter'

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Lance Byers waited until he was 40 to become a father, and he lived for his little girl, 2-year-old Emma.

But he was gunned down Tuesday morning as he was likely headed to work at the Department of Human Services office in Grand Rapids.

Around 8:20 a.m., a two-vehicle minor accident at Lafayette and State SE escalated into an apparent road rage incident that left Byers mortally wounded from a gunshot to the chest.

Byers' former girlfriend, Kelli Kopen, told 24 Hour News 8 he always took that route to work, where he issued food stamps and Medicaid to those in need.

"He went into work at 8:30. That would have been the exact route."

And, she said, her thoughts turned to Byers when she heard about the murder on the news.

"We had already seen the news and we didn't know who the victim was," said Kopen. "And it was just kind of one of those things that I just knew it was probably him."

Though their daughter, Emma, lived with her, he saw her often and always called her on the phone. Kopen said that Emma was "the love of his life."

"He was a wonderful, really sweet person," she told 24 Hour News 8. "He photo-journaled every 10 minutes of our daughter's life. That's his first and only daughter."

She said he was good natured, and described him as "very kind."

"He made people laugh. All his coworkers loved and valued him for that," said Kopen. "He had a very candid sense of humor and was just a really nice guy."

Kopen said Byers would never engage in road rage.

"That doesn't sound like Lance at all. He's really a pretty docile person, so for him to initiate anything verbally or physically other than if somebody hit him, maybe he would say, 'Wow, what's going on man?'"

Police at first weren't releasing his name because his parents were in Puerto Rico and couldn't be reached. But she said they've now made contact and she expects them to return to Grand Rapids for the funeral.

Now, she wants answers, for her and their daughter.

"The senselessness. Nothing to be said about that. It's awful. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

As for Emma, she has yet to tell her that her dad won't be coming to pick her up.

"She has no clue because she doesn't understand what death is. There really is no way for me to explain that to her now, but I'm sure over time, she will feel the loss."

Byers, she said, was "somebody that contributed to society rather than took away from it. Just a really good human being."

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 In a statement, DHS director Maura Corrigan said: “We are shocked and saddened by the sudden death Tuesday of Lance Byers. Lance was a respected member of the DHS team in Kent County, and what’s more, was popular with his clients, his co-workers and his managers alike. They all remarked that Lance always seemed to be wearing a smile.  On behalf of everyone at the Department of Human Services, our thoughts and our prayers go out to his parents, and his young daughter, that they may be given the strength to cope with his tragic, untimely loss.”