MORE: ‘She was my little sister:’ Springfield woman speaks out about sibling killed in crash
Byrd is accused of causing the death of Jessica Cydrus on June 3.
Cydrus was driving her Toyota Camry east on John Street around 4:15 p.m June 3 when an SUV that was speeding, drove through a stop sign at Portage Path, smashing into the driver’s side of the vehicle, according to police.
Byrd was identified as the driver of the SUV at the time. He was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center after the crash and the crash has been under investigation since.
Cydrus’ family spoke to the Springfield News-Sun after the crash and said she was a loving person who died to young.
Marcus Settles, a Springfield resident and family member of the fatal victim, said “she was just a mother.”
“She really enjoyed life, she was a great person, and she was a great friend of mine,” he said. “ We had a lot of good times, and we enjoyed life together. I remember her as just an all around good person who enjoyed life.”
Cydrus’ sister, Heather Kestner, also spoke to the Springfield News-Sun. She said she will always miss her sister.
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“Jessi would give you the shirt off her back. She’d give it to anybody,” Kestner said. “It didn’t matter who you were.”
Cydrus was also engaged to Jeff Rife when he was killed in March 2017. Rife was was shot on the 500 block of South Clairmont Avenue.
Kestner said no arrests have been made in the case, and her family never had closure from his death.
“When (Cydrus) was awake, she was trying to find out who killed Jeff. She needed to know who killed him,” Kestner said.
Kestner said if she could do anything — it would be to find Rife’s killer to get justice for the family because it’s what Cydrus would’ve wanted.
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The couple had a daughter together, who is a teenager now.
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