A fisherman who saw the immediate aftermath of a fiery fatal snowmobile crash Sunday said he and his two friends dragged the victim from the fiery wreckage near the Woodland Shore Drive bridge on Woodland Lake, but it was too late.

Police identified the victim as car wash businessman Robert David Mechigian.

"I pray for his family and his kids," Tim Coy, of Oceola Township, said Tuesday. "I'm sorry for their loss. It's a tragedy and they have my thoughts and prayers. …

"It makes us think of ourselves and how life is short and you never know what tomorrow will bring," he added.

Friends remember 48-year-old Mechigian, who owned four car washes among other business interests, as a good friend and wonderful father.

Derek Ruthig knew him for about 10 years. Their sons played hockey together, and Ruthig coached the team when the sons were younger.

"We used to hang out, talk and joke on hockey travel weekends," Ruthig said. "Rob was a very caring and loving father to his children, and they were a very tight, close-knit family, always doing things together. ... This horrible accident is a tragedy and will put things in perspective for a lot of people."

Michigan State Police Trooper Nick Littleton said witnesses reported the snowmobiler was operating a Ski-Doo Rotax 800R at a high rate of speed while heading south on the frozen Woodland Lake when the snowmobile struck the bridge.

While police have not said how fast Mechigian may have been traveling, Coy estimated the Brighton man's speed at around 85 mph or higher.

Coy said he and two friends, Robert Shaw, of Brighton, and Tim Larange, of Oceola Township, were sitting in their bright red shanty on Woodland Lake when one of the men heard the snowmobile approaching. As they looked out the shanty, all three commented about the man's speed.

"He was virtually a blur as we were looking out our windows," he said. "Maybe the throttle was stuck and that was the increase of the speed. I don't know, but he was traveling. … We thought 'oh crap, he's going 100 mph,' but realistically it probably was 85 to 100. I'd bet money on it."