A California man was tragically killed on Thursday after he pulled over to help a family of ducks cross a road and was hit by a teenage driver.
Casey Rivara, 41, was fatally struck by a car at Stanford Ranch Road and Park Drive in Placer County, California, police said in a statement.
Rivara had stepped out of vehicle car to “help some ducklings that were in the intersection” when a teenager hit him with her car, the statement said.
The 17-year-old remained at the scene to cooperate, and police said it’s unlikely she will face criminal charges as there appeared to be no criminal negligence, according to NBC News. But authorities added that an investigation was ongoing.
Witnesses said Rivara safely escorted the ducks away from traffic and was returning to his vehicle when the car struck him, according to NBC affiliate KCRA.
A 12-year-old boy who was at the scene, named William, said people were cheering and clapping for Rivara.
“He got out of the car and was shooing the ducks, and everyone was clapping because he was being really nice,” William told KCRA. “He helped them get up over the curb because all the little baby duckies were having trouble, and then he walked in front of our car.”
The boy said he didn’t see where the car came from. “All I remember is the sound and then him flying across the intersection,” he told KCRA. “His shoes and one of his socks were right in front of our car.”
A GoFundMe for Rivara’s family, titled “Casey’s final act of kindness,” said the man was driving his kids home when the accident occurred.
“On May 18th, 2023, my nephew, Casey Rivara, was driving his children home after the kids’ swim practice when they saw a mama duck and ducklings struggling to cross a busy intersection. Casey got out of the car to help the ducks safely across the road,” wrote Rivara’s aunt, Tracey Rivara.
Rivara was married with two children, an 11-year-old girl, and a 6-year-old boy, and had recently started working at his kids’ school, according to the GoFundMe.
His wife, Angel Chow, said she received a flood of kind messages and gestures after Rivara’s death.
“My heart is in thousand pieces and I don’t know how to put them back together,”Chow wrote in a Saturday statement. “But I am honored to know that he left us while making positive impacts to others, even it was for animals.”
Chow and Tracey Rivara did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment. (Insider)
