US Man Dies After Being Hit By Car While Helping Ducks Cross Road
Busy roads with traffic can be dangerous for humans, let alone animals that might not know how to cross them. In many situations, such attempts don’t end well.
While a family of ducks made it across a road in the United States (US) safely, the man who helped them sadly didn’t. An oncoming car crashed straight into him, claiming his life.
A 17-year-old girl was driving the car that hit him, according to KCRA.
Witnesses saw 41-year-old Casey Rivara exit his vehicle to help the ducks cross the road, only to be struck.
The girl is not expected to face any criminal charges.
Man gets out of vehicle to help ducks cross street
On 18 May, Mr Rivara was driving his children home in Rocklin, California, when they saw a family of ducks struggling to cross the road, according to a GoFundMe set up by Mr Rivara’s aunt.
Mr Rivara got out of the car to help the ducks cross the road, only to be hit by a car.
Source: KCRA
12-year-old witness William snapped images of Mr Rivara helping the ducklings across the road.
“He got out of the car and was shooing the ducks and everyone was clapping because he was being really nice,” said William to KCRA.
“He helped them get up over the kerb because all the little baby duckies were having trouble and then he walked in front of our car.”
Unfortunately, after the applause, a car collided with Mr Rivara. He later passed away from his injuries.
Still traumatised by the incident, both William and his little sister stayed home from school for a day with their mum.
Tribute set up for man
After the accident, a second 12-year-old witness, Jude, reportedly returned to the intersection, armed with flowers and rubber duckies as tribute.
Source: KCRA
The young boy urged everyone to honour the fallen man as he was “being really kind and then something horrible happened to him.” Jude even went as far as to describe Mr Rivara as “an amazing person”.
Mr Rivara leaves behind his wife, Angel, and their two children aged six and 11.
Source: GoFundMe
His aunt set up a GoFundMe to help his family through this difficult period. The campaign has raised US$66,093 (S$89,126) at the time of writing, far exceeding the initial US$30,000 (S$40,455) goal.
According to KCRA, police are investigating the incident. However, the 17-year-old driver is unlikely to face any criminal charges.
She remained at the scene after the accident and is cooperating with investigations.
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Featured image adapted from KCRA.
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