Richard Swanson set out to dribble a soccer ball from Seattle to Brazil to raise money for charity, but his adventure was tragically cut short when he was killed by a truck. INSIDE EDITION spoke to Swanson's son.
Richard Swanson loved the game of soccer so much, he was actually going to kick a soccer ball from his home in Seattle all the way to the World Cup in Brazil. A journey of 10,000 miles.
But before taking off on his year-long trip, this 42-year-old father of two spoke words that would prove prophetic, he said, ‘I’ll try to get off the beaten path. There's a lot of cars and just not get run over!"
Swanson happily videotaped his own feet dribbling the soccer ball as he got underway. By the fourteenth day, he'd journeyed 260 miles through the city of Portland, and down the Oregon coast. That's when it happened, he was hit by a pickup truck while dribbling the ball on Highway 101.
A passerby took a photo of the crash scene. Swanson was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
His son Devin told INSIDE EDITION, "He was hit from behind. You really can't see that coming. It was tragic."
Police say the driver stopped to help and is cooperating with the investigation into the death of a man who had a big dream and died pursuing it.
Devon said, "Everyone thought he was crazy, but he was all about following your dream."
