Coworkers say Ashley Tyer was central to daily life at the business where she worked for seven years.
MASCOTTE, Fla. — Ashley Tyer’s coworkers say the 40-year-old employee was the heart of their tire shop, and now the small Lake County business where she worked is grieving while a customer faces a homicide charge in her death.
Tyer died March 21 after suffering critical injuries five days earlier at Just Stop Tires, where police say she tried to stop a man from leaving without paying for service. The arrest of Brandon Charles Gregory Lewis, 33, quickly turned a local tragedy into a criminal case, but the immediate impact was felt first inside the shop, where coworkers described losing a longtime employee, friend and daily presence as they prepared vigils and fundraisers for her family.
Before the case reached court, it had already reshaped the rhythm of the business where Tyer had worked for seven years. Owner Roy Cruz told local television reporters she was central to the operation, while coworker James Kelly remembered her as both warm and tough, someone who fit naturally into a fast-moving shop environment. “She had so much love, but she was so tough,” Kelly said in one interview, calling her more like family than an employee. Those recollections became part of the public record around the case because they explained why her death hit so hard in Mascotte. Local coverage also showed coworkers gathering around the shop, speaking not in legal terms first but in the language of loss, memory and disbelief that a dispute over a modest bill ended with her on life support and then gone.
Police say the violence began on March 16 after Lewis brought a black Hyundai Equus to the shop for tire replacement. According to investigators, the job was completed and the amount due was $95. Instead of paying, police said, Lewis and a woman with him got into the car and attempted to leave. Investigators allege Lewis lowered the vehicle off the jacks, then backed into another employee as he moved out of the lot. The car reached the road and stalled, prompting several workers to approach. Police said Lewis briefly got out, complained that the workers had broken his car and then returned to the driver’s seat. At that point, investigators said, Tyer stood in front of the vehicle as employees tried to keep him from escaping until officers arrived.
Witnesses described the next moments as fast and chaotic. Police said Lewis drove into Tyer, carrying her onto the hood before she was thrown to the pavement. Kelly told local reporters he turned and saw her already on the hood. Another account cited by police said the driver swerved in an apparent attempt to shake her free. Tyer was gravely hurt and placed on life support. She died March 21, according to police and local reports. The loss pushed coworkers and neighbors toward public mourning almost as quickly as detectives moved toward an arrest. WESH reported that the shop planned a barbecue and candlelight vigil on a Saturday soon after Lewis’ court appearance, a sign that the community response was unfolding on a parallel track to the prosecution.
Investigators said they identified Lewis through witness information, surveillance footage and the vehicle itself. Police said workers recorded the license plate and contacted law enforcement while the confrontation was still unfolding. The Hyundai was later linked to the woman who had been with Lewis at the shop, and officers eventually stopped the vehicle in Polk County. According to police, the passenger side of the windshield was cracked and the hood on the same side was dented. Investigators also said Lewis denied knowing where Mascotte was and claimed he had been elsewhere that afternoon. Police said the video and witness statements placed him at the scene. He was then arrested on a vehicular homicide charge.
By the time Lewis appeared before a judge, the case had shifted from mourning to procedure. His bond was set at $500,000, and prosecutors used the hearing to outline concerns about his driving history, including a previous Ohio conviction for negligent vehicular homicide that local reporting said had been reduced from a more serious count. Reports also said his Florida driver’s license had been suspended since 2021. Lewis remained in the Lake County Jail after the hearing. Police have said the investigation is still open, leaving unanswered whether additional criminal counts, or action involving anyone else present that day, could still emerge as detectives finish their review.
For now, Mascotte is holding two realities at once: a criminal case inching through court and a workplace trying to absorb the death of someone coworkers still describe in the present tense. Lewis’ next court appearance is scheduled for April 20, while the community events planned around Tyer’s death continue to mark where the story began for the people who knew her.
Author note: Last updated April 16, 2026.