MAN KILLED BY SANDBAG WAS GOING TO PROPOSE TO HIS GIRLFRIEND

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

A Michigan man who died from injuries sustained after a sandbag was tossed from a highway overpass had plans to propose to his girlfriend.

Lillian Diallo, a friend of 22-year-old Marquise Byrd, said the young father was going to pop the question to his girlfriend on his birthday.

"It would have been a surprise to her, and only his mother knew of his plan," she told People Magazine. "He was robbed of being a married father, a husband taking care of his family and living the dream that was almost in his grasp."

"In his mind, that would have been the greatest gift he could have got on his birthday."

Byrd died on Friday, a few days after four teenage boys threw a construction sandbag from Interstate 75 in Toledo, onto the vehicle he was traveling in.

Byrd, who was in the passenger seat, was struck in the head by the heavy bag. The driver was not injured.

Diallo said he died at the hospital from blunt force trauma to the head and neck.

Marquise Byrd was going to propose to his girlfriend before his death, a family friend said. (FACEBOOK)

"He was just in a car riding like any of us, not bothering anybody, and the sandbag came down and came down on his side of the car," she told the magazine. "It was strong enough to collapse the frame of the car - so think what it did to the human body."

The teens, who are between the ages of 13 and 14, were charged with murder following Byrd's death.

They denied the charges last week during a detention hearing.

The boys are being held without bail at the Lucas county Juvenile Justice Center in Toledo. Their identities have not been released because they are juveniles.

Diallo tells CNN that Byrd won't be buried until Jan. 6 while the family waits for people to come into town to "come together in fellowship and memory of his life."