TALLMADGE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A female jogger was killed after being hit by a pickup truck on Sunday. Around 7:30 p.m., a 16-year-old in a truck tried to pass another vehicle on Johnson Street east of 48th Avenue in Ottawa County when he hit a woman who was jogging, investigators say.
The jogger has been identified as Rebecca Talsma, 35, of Coopersville. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Becky Talsma (courtesy photo).
Those who knew Talsma, who was known as Becky, say she will be missed.
Glenn Horling, a neighbor who says he was the last person to see Talsma, said he heard the accident. "I said hi to her and she said, `Beautiful evening,` and I walked away further and turned around to come back. And in probably four or five minutes, I heard a crash."
“It’s a scary thought that within five minutes after I talked to her, she’s gone. And it shows how short life can be."
Investigators are still looking into the crash but say it's possible the teen was blinded by the sun at the time and didn't see the jogger.
