A fire truck with its emergency lights flashing was parked on I-94 to block traffic when a car struck and killed Comstock Township Fire Chief Ed Switalski on the shoulder of the road.
Police still don't know why the driver of a sedan, identified only as a 24-year-old Battle Creek man, lost control and struck the chief, Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Pali Matyas said.
Switalski, 55, was on foot at the back of his vehicle after responding to a 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 14, report of a car crash near mile marker 81 east of the Sprinkle Road exit when the fatal crash occurred, deputies said.
First responders were originally called to a different crash on eastbound I-94 and could not immediately find any wreckage east of Sprinkle Road, Matyas said. The firefighters circled back and spotted the crash further off the side of the highway, where they parked.