Murder witness tried to help victim

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Driving on business, a Grand Rapids-area man could never have anticipated what he would be a part of Tuesday morning.

"I had just been listening to the radio in the car and enjoying myself on my way, and I stopped and everything changed," the man, who asked not to have his name released, told 24 Hour News 8.

He witnessed the murder of Lance Byers, a 42-year-old man, believed to be headed to work at the Department of Human Services office about a mile away from the scene at Lafayette Avenue and State Street in Grand Rapids.

The witness said he saw Byers and the suspect arguing in the street after a crash.

"As I watched, they got closer and closer so that their noses were almost touching each other," the witness said. "It appeared to me it was gonna escalate to at least a fist fight."

At that point, the witness started to call 911 from his cell phone and that's when the shooting occurred.

"I heard a bang," the witness said. "(The victim) was trying to get in the car and fell out of the car as it drove along."

The car came to rest when it hit a small tree just off the road.

The witness and a woman, who said she was a nurse, began to help Byers. The nurse performed CPR.

"I was just talking to the guy and saying, 'Come on buddy, breathe. You can do it. You can make it.' I felt horrible. He was laying there on the ground."

Emergency responders rushed to the scene and tried to help Byers, but he later died at a hospital due to his injuries.

"It just seems like such a horrible, useless thing to happen. I mean, over a very minor accident - apparently. ... It appears to have been over a little fender-bender. It felt almost like a dream -- like it wasn't really happening," the witness said.

Rumors of movement in the case spread among those gathered for a vigil to honor Byers Wednesday night. But Grand Rapids police said no arrests had been made late that evening.