Firefighter 'Deliberately' Struck, Killed By Pickup While Collecting For Charity

LANSING, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - A 32-year-old man has been arrested after a Lansing firefighter collecting donations was struck and killed by a pickup truck.

Police say the driver drove off after hitting 35-year-old firefighter, Dennis Rodeman, about 3:40 p.m. Wednesday. Officers caught the driver after a vehicle and foot chase.

The injured firefighter was brought to hospital Wednesday night and later died from his injuries. He was participating in an annual fundraising campaign for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the International Association of Fire Fighters.

"I spent time with the family, he's a young man, a hero, an Iraq War veteran, and then to come down, and be struck down -- we can't make sense of it but we can say he died doing what he loves, which is helping people," Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero told WWJ.

Lansing police Capt. Jim Kraus said there was some type of traffic altercation before the firefighter was struck by the pickup.

Kraus said the driver "was upset for whatever reason," and that a preliminary investigation shows "he deliberately hit the firefighter who was standing in the road collecting for the charity."

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