Richard Swanson, who was planning to dribble a soccer ball from Seattle all the way to Brazil, was killed by a car on US Highway 101, in Lincoln City, Oregon and died at an area hospital from his injuries.
According to the New York Times, the 42-year-old Swanson was planning on dribbling to Brazil in time for the 2014 World Cup and he made a website titled BreakawayBrazil.com to follow his journey along the way. The 10,000 mile trip was to promote One World Futbol, an organization that gives soccer balls to developing countries and he previously said in an interview that he was a private investigator and was looking for an adventure between jobs.
Swanson said that he played soccer in the past after picking it up five years ago and also was a fan of the Seattle Sounders of the MLS. The driver of the pickup truck has not been charged with his death and the reports said that he was hit around 10 am. Police said they recovered the soccer ball.
Swanson left for his trek on May 1 and was making good progress after starting off in flip flops, but he soon changed to hiking sandals and had help along the way from kind strangers.
"He was at a point in his life where he had raised his kids," Kristi Schwesinger, a Seattle interior designer and close friend of Swanson's, said. "Both his boys (Devin and Raven) had graduated from high school. He had no mortgage. He had sold his condo recently and was between jobs."
