Man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car

[Tx4obama]

Man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car

A Seattle man trying to dribble a soccer ball 10,000 miles to Brazil in time for the 2014 World Cup died Tuesday after being hit by a pickup truck on the Oregon Coast.

Police in Lincoln City, Ore., said 42-year-old Richard Swanson was hit at about 10 a.m. 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.

Lt. Jerry Palmer said investigators found materials among Swanson's belongings listing his website, breakawaybrazil.com.

Swanson set out on the trek to promote the One World Futbol Project, based in Berkeley, Calif., which donates durable blue soccer balls to people in developing countries.

-snip-

Full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130515/us-soccer-ball-dribbler-death/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage

[GiaGiovanni]

1. Was he walking on a sidewalk?

If so, then this truck driver should be charged and tried.

If, however, this guy was dribbling a ball on a road for vehicles, then he was taking an unwise risk.

It's hard to tell which it was since the HuffPo focused on the guy's Facebook page and not on the conditions surrounding the accident. (I went to the link and there wasn't any more information than in the OP.)

However, the fact that the truck driver has not been arrested indicates to me that the soccer guy was dribbling on the highway itself. Highway 101 is a major route along the Pacific Coast that goes down through California. While you can often see the ocean from the 101, it is a definite throughway--not a sleepy little side street. Dribbling a ball on the road surface is just not a good idea, even if your cause is a fun one.

[Art_from_Ark]

2. He was walking along the shoulder of the road

http://www.koin.com/2013/05/14/soccer-dribbler-killed-on-lincoln-city-road/

[GiaGiovanni]

5. That's a dangerous spot, unfortunately

Highway 101 is a major thoroughfare down the west coast. In some parts of the 101, there are sidewalks, but other parts of the Highway are almost like a limited access highway with no place for pedestrians. Choosing to walk in areas without places for pedestrians is a big risk.

[Lizzie Poppet]

8. Indeed so.

I've cycled down the coast a couple times (plus some shorter trips along 101), and there are more than a few long sections that are really sketchy for bikes and pedestrians.

[TheBlackAdder]

3. Headstone: Richard Swanson - Died while trying to give people in developing countries Blue Balls.

[Jenoch]

4. The fact that this guy set out

on his 'adventure' in flip flops tells me all I need to know. I hope his boys are able to get past this without too much anger.

[NoPasaran]

6. I hope the Darwin Committee has been notified

[LWolf]

7. He didn't get very far.