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35 year old Lansing firefighter Dennis Rodeman died today while collecting for MDA at an IAFF Fill-The-Boot collection site. Rodeman was a 7 year veteran of the department and a Marine veteran who served in Iraq. Rodeman was married and expecting their first child.
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Lansing firefighter Dennis Rodeman died from injuries he got when he was hit by a truck while collecting for a charity at the corner of Jolly Road and Cedar Street on Wednesday afternoon. Lansing police tell wilx.com Rodeman had some sort of confrontation with a man in a white Chevy S-10 pickup. The truck drove off then circled back and hit Rodeman. A 32-year-old suspect is being held on charges of leaving the scene and fleeing & eluding.
A Lansing Fire Department firefighter has died after being struck by a pickup truck while participating in a charity event.
Thirty-five-year-old Dennis Rodeman, a seven-year veteran of the Lansing Fire Department, died Wednesday evening, according to a statement from Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero.
Rodeman was a Marine veteran who served in Fallujah, Iraq, WOOD TV8’s Lansing sister station WLNS is reporting. His Facebook page says he studied at both Western Michigan University and Michigan State University. He and his wife were expecting their first child.
Lansing police Capt. Jim Kraus said there was a “traffic altercation” in the moments before the incident, although he did not give specifics.
“The suspect came by, was upset for whatever reason (and) circled back around” before striking the firefighter, Kraus said. “The preliminary investigation is that he deliberately hit the firefighter who was standing in the road, collecting for the charity.
Rodeman was among several firefighters at the intersection collecting donations for muscular dystrophy research and was dressed in turnout gear and a reflective vest, Kraus said. He was standing in the center turn lane when he was hit, Kraus said.
Tionna Davis said she was driving southbound on Cedar Street when a northbound vehicle swerved from the right lane into the left lane and hit the firefighter. One of the boots the firefighter was wearing hit her car, she said.
“He literally tried to hit him,” she said, referring to the suspect.
Lansing firefighters sit on the curb on Cedar Street just north of Jolly Road Wednesday after a fellow firefighter was hit by a vehicle during the “Fill the Boot” collection campaign. (Photo: Dave Wasinger/Lansing State Journal)
