ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Doug Lodge of south St. Louis County was so devoted to his daughter's baton-twirling obsession that his friends called him "Mr. Baton Dad." He doted on 10-year-old Olivia, his youngest child and only daughter, during her practices and competitions at St. Louis Performance Academy.
Lodge, 43, died early Friday in a crash on Interstate 70, near Troy, Illinois. His Volkswagen Jetta was heading east near Old Staunton Road when it hit a guardrail around 3:20 a.m. A tractor-trailer traveling in the same direction struck the Jetta a few minutes later, according to Illinois police. Lodge was pronounced dead at a hospital just before 5 a.m.
Suzi Ruth, who also has a daughter at the performance academy, found out what happened from another baton parent.Â
Lodge was Ruth's carpool buddy when they would work Blues games and other events at Enterprise Center to fundraise for the academy. While they filled soda cups and scooped popcorn in the crowded concession stand, Lodge always kept a smile on his face — and a ballcap on his head. Ruth managed to capture him without one once, all dressed up for Olivia's banquet. She forced him to mark the occasion with a photo, his pale-pink dress shirt coordinating with his daughter's outfit.Â
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"He was an incredibly ," said Ruth, who lives in South County. "He was a friend to everyone."
Lodge also had two grown sons, Jake and Nathan, with his wife, Chrissy. He was employed at St. Louis Area Foodbank in Bridgeton for the past 11 years as a volunteer center project coordinator. The nonprofit posted a Saturday on Facebook.
"He is loved by all who knew him here, especially his coworkers and the many volunteers with whom he worked each day," the post said.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Â