A Michigan man told police he was angry at Lansing firefighters for slowing traffic when he struck and killed one last week.
Grant Taylor claimed firefighters mocked him when he told them they were blocking traffic, a detective testified during a hearing last week.
He honked his horn and threw an apple core at Lansing Firefighter Dennis Rodeman before he drove away only to turn around and come back to strike him, The Lansing State Journal reported.
Taylor, 22, fled the scene, but was later located. He is charged with murder, failing to stop at a collision causing death and two counts of third-degree fleeing.
He admitted to hitting Rodeman with his pickup truck and didn’t say that it was an accident, but also didn’t say it was intentional, Detective Lee McCallister testified.
A witness told police he saw a white pickup truck driving northbound on Cedar Street and swerve at a firefighter, who was able to get out of the way. He added that the vehicle accelerated before striking Rodeman, the paper reported.
Rodeman's wife, Katherine, was on duty as a trauma nurse at Sparrow's Hospital when he arrived. They were expecting their first child.
“At no time during his conversation did (Taylor) express any remorse. Nor did he ask the condition of the victim,” McCallister testified.
Rodeman, a former U.S. Marine, had served in Iraq.
Visitation will take place from 4-9 p.m. Tuesday at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Home, 900 E. Michigan Ave. in Lansing.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center. Doors open at 9 a.m. The public should arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the service. Interment will follow at West Carmel Cemetery at Carlisle Highway and Ainger Road in Carmel Township
Firefighters from across the nation are expected to attend.
