A 22-year-old driver will face charges of open murder and felony hit and run after hitting and killing a Lansing firefighter with his truck. Authorities say Dennis Rodeman was hit by a truck while collecting money for charity. Police believe he was intentionally hit by a man driving a white Chevy S-10 pickup truck. He was on the road for a “Fill the Boot” campaign where he got into a dispute with the driver. Police say the truck first drove away but then turned around and hit the firefighter. The motive is unclear. Officers chased the truck and took the suspect into custody. The driver ran from the police, but was caught. Rodeman, a seven-year veteran of the Lansing Fire Department, was recently married and expecting his first child. He was a Marine veteran who served in Iraq.
Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero issued this statement
On behalf of the Lansing Fire Department and the City of Lansing, it is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Fire Fighter Dennis Rodeman, a seven-year veteran of LFD, who was struck this afternoon by a hit-and-run driver in a senseless, unthinkable tragedy that has left all of us in a state of shock. We join the men and women of Lansing Fire and all citizens of Lansing in expressing our deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues for this heartbreaking loss.
While his extraordinary life story will be told in the days ahead, we know that Fire Fighter Rodeman was also a veteran of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion of the 24th Marine Regiment, United States Marine Corps. He served his country with great pride, bravery and ability, having survived a tour of duty in Fallujah, Iraq, one of the most dangerous places in the world. It is beyond comprehension that this American hero lost his life on the streets of Lansing while collecting charitable contributions for children afflicted by muscular dystrophy.