On February 22, 2023, Officer Byrnes was involved in a fatal collision while responding to a call. He drove his patrol car at approximately 88 mph through a red light, colliding with a civilian vehicle and killing 30-year-old Sabeeh Alalkawi. A state police reconstruction report found Byrnes responsible for the crash, citing his decision to proceed through the red light without caution as the primary contributing factor. As of the latest reports, Byrnes remains on desk duty pending further investigation.