Veteran accidentally cuts off driver, gets shot and killed when he tries to apologize
Keith Byrne (Courtesy: WSVN)
DAVIE, Fla. (FOX 13) - Police in South Florida said a veteran was shot and killed in a road rage incident when he tried to apologize for cutting off another car in traffic.
Investigators said 41-year-old retired U.S. Marine Keith Byrne was driving his work truck in Davie on Friday afternoon when he accidentally cut off a BMW before both cars approached a red light.
Byrne, who was on the phone with a friend at the time, said he was going to say sorry to the other driver, WSVN reports.
But when he rolled down his window to apologize, a passenger in the BMW, identified as 22-year-old Andre Sinclair, got out of the car and pointed his gun at Byrne.
Police said Sinclair's girlfriend was driving the BMW, while their 19-month-old daughter sat in the back seat.
“The driver, Mr. Sinclair’s girlfriend, had grabbed him by the shirt, tried to prevent him from getting out of the vehicle,” Davie Police Lt. Mark Leone said. “He did get out armed with a gun and went towards the work truck.”
Sinclair shot Byrne in the chest; Byrne then fired back with his own weapon, hitting Sinclair twice.
“Mr. Byrne was acting in self defense when he ultimately fired back at Mr. Sinclair,” Leone said.
The friend who had been on the phone with Byrne at the time heard the gunshots and called police.
Byrne died at the scene inside of his truck; Sinclair was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died two days later.
According to the Sun-Sentinel, Leone said if Sinclair had survived, “we would have identified him as the primary aggressor, and he would have ultimately been charged with murder.”
Byrne's family said he will be buried with full military honors at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth later this month.