A Seattle man's attempt to dribble a soccer ball from his hometown to Brazil for charity has ended in tragedy just two weeks and a few hundred miles in. Richard Swanson, 42, was struck and killed by a pickup truck in Lincoln City, Oregon, yesterday morning, the AP reports. The driver has not been charged. Swanson, a former private investigator, had planned to promote the charity One World Futbol by spending more than a year dribbling the ball through 11 countries, reaching Brazil in time for next year's World Cup. He wrote about his journey at breakawaybrazil.com.
A friend of Swanson's says he had decided to go on a big adventure after being laid off from his new career as a graphic designer. "He was at a point in his life where he had raised his kids," she says. "Both his boys had graduated from high school. He had no mortgage. He had sold his condo recently and was between jobs. And he loved the game of soccer. He stumbled on this great organization, One World Futbol, and decided this would be his passion the next year." One World Futbol, which donates durable soccer balls to kids in developing countries, says it is "extremely saddened" to hear of Swanson's death. (More 2014 World Cup stories.)
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