WA Ping
Posted on 05/15/2013 7:28:17 AM PDT by dennisw
Richard Swanson, 42, planned to walk from Seattle to Sao Paulo, Brazil, for next year’s tournament.
His dreams of dribbling to the World Cup were cut short.
Richard Swanson, 42, planned to walk, soccer ball at his feet, from Seattle to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to make it in time for next year’s international soccer tournament. But Swanson was mowed down by a pickup truck Tuesday morning south of Lincoln City, Ore., only two weeks and a few hundred miles into his journey.
This map from the “Breakaway Brazil” Facebook page shows the journey Swanson attempted. Upon his death, he was only two weeks and a few hundred miles in.
“It is with a heavy heart to notify you that Richard Swanson passed on this morning,” someone posted on his “Breakaway Brazil” Facebook page used to document the trek. “His team, family, friends, and loved ones will miss him and love him dearly. You made it to Brazil in our hearts, Richard. Team Richard.”
Described as an “avid runner, soccer player, and all-around lover of the Pacific Northwest,” Swanson planned to visit 11 countries during his one-year-plus trip south. Along the way, Swanson planned to dribble an “indestructible” soccer ball to promote the One World Futbol Project, a charity that donates such durable balls to people in disadvantaged communities.
The ball was found among his belongings in the crash wreckage on U.S. Highway 101.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
I walked a few miles in flip-flops and the top part started chafing the top of my feet. I don’t see how he can walk thousands of miles in them
Did the driver at least get a yellow card?
The mods pulled this article last night.
I’m thinking this just saved him from being murdered in Mexico/Guatamala/Honduras/Nicaragua/Colombia...
Seriously - they are bigger, easier to spot on the road and can cause more damage. Also, avoiding logging trucks that have to drift over the centerline for any reason is common in those parts.
It was inevitable. Never have understood people who do these stunts. But, but it’s for a cause!!!
Here's the story from a local paper.
I thought the old “Go play in traffic” was meant as a joke - not to be taken literally.
He’s probably faking the injury
“Is this guy a candidate for a Darwin Award?”
He’s the winner if you ask me.
I’m not surprised
Brings out the sweet stuff here
Reads like a high school newspaper, and it has the aroma of the typical internet hoax.
Not that I care anyway.....
Carryon!
WA Ping
Wow, that’s tragic.. but why didn’t he take a secondary road? U.S. 101 is a damned busy highway.
That stretch between Panama City and the Colombian border likely would have killed him anyway. Disease or some swamp critter woulda got him.
Sad, but incredibly stupid
I know this is cruel, but I instantly thought about that Latin American soccer announcer who screams “GOALLLLLLLL” after every point.
We were on a 45 mile backpack trail and came across three Canadian college students who were woefully unprepared for such a trek. Among other things, one has only a pair of flip flops instead of proper hiking boots. Within two days, he was getting aspirin from everyone he saw on the trail due to shin splints. To their credit, they completed the trail.
I’m a cyclist. Good advice.
Lieutenant Jerry Palmer said investigators found materials among Swanson's possessions listing his website, breakawaybrazil.com
.....
Police said Palmer's soccer ball was recovered.
The Grauniad at its finest, getting those details right...
If only he’d been dribbling a basketball, he might still be with us.
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