LANSING (WKZO-AM) — Thousands are expected to fill the Breslin Center in East Lansing on Wednesday to say goodbye to a firefighter struck and killed in a deliberate hit-and-run during a “Fill the Boot” charity drive.
The funeral for 35-year-old Dennis Rodeman on the Michigan State University campus comes one week after a 22-year-old former MSU student with a history of mental illness struck the military veteran with his pickup at Cedar Street and Jolly Road on Lansing’s south side.
Grant Taylor became agitated because the Sept. 9 fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association was holding up traffic, according to court documents. Police say he tossed an apple core at Rodeman before driving away, turning around and running the firefighter over.
Mourners, as of late Tuesday morning, have since donated over $125,000 to Rodeman’s wife through the crowdfunding website GoFundMe. Rodeman’s wife is pregnant with the couple’s first child.
Gov. Snyder has also ordered flags on Wednesday to be lowered to half-staff to honor Rodeman’s memory.
Hundreds of family and friends are expected to attend visitation Tuesday at a funeral home on East Michigan Avenue.
The funeral at the arena Wednesday is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
– Anthony Pollreisz
