Seamus Byrne, Decorated War Veteran, Fatally Struck by Car After Celebrating Birthday

A decorated war veteran who survived a suicide bombing in Afghanistan was struck by a car and killed after celebrating his birthday party at a bar on New York's Long Island.

Seamus Byrne was heading home from the bar in Smithtown, N.Y., after celebrating his 33rd birthday with his wife and friends early Sunday when he inadvertently walked into the street and was hit by an oncoming car, according to police.

"He was very happy with his friends, celebrating life," his father-in-law, James Gallagher, told the New York Daily News. "He just wasn't looking at the traffic, and he walked in front of a car."

Seamus Byrne, 29, of the 69th Infantry who is leaving for Iraq, at his parents home at 66 King St. with his wife Michelle Byrne 28, his son Seamus Byrne, and 3 month old daughter Ashley Byrne in a 2008 photo. (NY Daily News/Getty Images)

NY Daily News/Getty Images

Seamus Byrne -- seen here in 2008 with his wife, Michelle; son, Seamus; and daughter, Ashley -- died after being hit by a car Sunday.

His wife, Michelle, who is a nurse, witnessed the accident and tried to revive her husband until paramedics arrived, Gallagher told the New York Post. Byrne died later at a hospital.

Gallagher said the couple had known each other since elementary school. They have two children: Seamus Jr., 10, and Ashley, 3.

"Michelle is taking this really hard; she's just unable to talk about it right now. She's just crying," Gallagher told the paper.

Byrne served with the New York Army National Guard's Fighting 69th Infantry Regiment. In October 2008 he survived a suicide bombing in Afghanistan that killed nine others in his Humvee and was awarded a Purple Heart. His father-in-law told the Post he still suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, but was a good husband and father.

The driver of the car that hit Byrne has not been charged.