GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Smith family described Dewayne as someone who rode bikes, loved music, and could make anybody laugh.
He was also a caring dad of five kids, who loved spending time with them and taking them to the beach, they said.
“My brother was a loving person, a good father, a good friend. You know, someone you can depend on. He was just an alright guy. I’m going to miss him. I love him so much. It’s hard right now,” Lamont Smith said with his voice beginning to tremble. “I love you, bro. I love you so much and I miss you. You didn’t have to go like that.”
Last Thursday night, on March 30, police said he was struck and killed while trying to cross US-131 near the Wealthy Street exit.
“His car stopped and evidently it wouldn’t go,” said his sister Penny Henderson. “Whether it was gas or it stalled out, we don’t know the actual specifics. But he had gotten out. It was on the expressway. He had gotten out and got the children out because the children were in the car with him.”
The family said he got the children to safety on the median and started to walk away from the stalled vehicle. However, when he turned around to retrieve what they believe to be his phone, that’s when he was fatally struck.
“It’s very hard that we had to get this call at 6:30 in the morning,” said Dewayne’s eldest daughter Maricea Smith, with tears in her eyes. “It happened at 11 o’clock at night. So, it’s just even harder for us to have to not know what happened to him then, and have to learn about it six, seven hours later.”
The family immediately drove into town, from New York, Tennessee, and Indiana, and met with law enforcement about the incident. They’ve since created a GoFundMe page to help with expenses.
Their only message, they said, is for drivers to slow down, especially at night.
“I’m thankful that my brother and sister are OK,” Maricea said. “But it hurts that I lost my dad behind a tragedy.”
