HUDSONVILLE, Mich. -- Rodney Van Dyke, 50, was killed this morning while riding his bike in Georgetown Township.
The Ottawa County Sheriff's Department said a car hit Van Dyke on 36th Street between Baldwin and Port Sheldon. The driver of the car was 40-year-old Jon Alferink.
Alferink said it was dark, and he didn't see Van Dyke until he hit him. That's according to the sheriff's department. Alferink was driving southbound and said the headlights from a northbound vehicle blinded his view.
Investigators said Van Dyke's bike did have a light on the front and the back, but he was wearing black and gray clothes and possibly had earbuds in.
Once he realized what happened, the department said Alferink immediately called 911.
Van Dyke was a math teacher and girl's golf coach for South Christian High School. He worked there for more than 20 years.
"He took his teaching seriously, but he didn't take himself so seriously. That was his strength. That was his hallmark," George Guichelaar, the principal said.
The Ottawa County Sheriff's Department continues to investigate and will hand the case over to the prosecutor's office for review.
