What a sad sad story. A Seattle man named Richard Swanson wanted to make history by dribbling a soccer ball while traveling 10,000 miles through 11 countries — all for charity. He was killed by a truck yesterday morning. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
Report after the jump…
Via DailyMail:
A Seattle man attempting to dribble a soccer ball 10,000 miles to Brazil in time for the 2014 World Cup for charity has died after being hit by a pickup truck on the Oregon Coast just 14 days into his mission.
Police in Lincoln City say 42-year-old Richard Swanson was hit on Tuesday morning while walking south along U.S. Highway 101 near the city limits.
He was declared dead at a hospital. The driver has not been charged and is said to be cooperating.
Lt. Jerry Palmer says investigators found materials among Swanson’s things listing his website, BreakawayBrazil.com. They also found a blue soccer ball, similar to one he was frequently seen photographed with.
Swanson set out on the trek on May 1 to promote the One World Futbol Project, based in Berkley, Calif., which donates durable soccer balls to people in developing countries.
Along the way he documented his travel with a map, capturing his route, as well as photos of the sights he saw and people he met.
Among those immediately expressing their grief was Swanson’s son, Devin Swanson, seen smiling in an earlier photograph along his trail with his father whom he called an ‘inspiration to all to continue doing what you love.’
‘He died doin what he loved and thats the only [consolation] I have,’ Devin Swanson wrote on his Facebook page.
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