DETROIT – In an interview with Local 4, Bloomfield Hills resident Royce Benjamin said his family was in Boston Monday to cheer on his son as he completed his third marathon.
Benjamin said he and his family were sitting in grandstand seats when they realized that they needed to get down to the finish line.
"We had just gotten a text to say that Chris had finished. We were waiting for him but we had missed him," he said. "We started to go towards the finish line, we were only about 150 feet from it to begin with, I was looking up into the stands for my daughter-in-law and at that moment the explosion occurred in the back of me."
Benjamin said he was startled and wasn't prepared for what he saw when he turned around.
"I turned around and I saw this one gentleman laying on the ground and debris flying around," he said. "We started to walk away in the other direction from the explosion and it turns out we were walking right towards the second explosion."
Benjamin said his family had set up a meeting place in a hotel.
"Texting is amazing. We knew almost instantly that they were there and that they were OK. They told us to meet us there," he said.
Benjamin said he's grateful his family is OK and was only separated for a few minutes.
"We are sad for the people that are injured and also sad for the future marathon and sports crowds in general," he said. "What can you do to stop something like that?"
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Boston Explosions