A Seattle man trying to dribble a soccer ball 10,000 miles to Brazil in time for the 2014 World Cup died Tuesday after being hit by a pickup truck on the Oregon Coast.
Police in Lincoln City, Ore., said 42-year-old Richard Swanson was hit at about 10 a.m. while walking south along U.S. Highway 101 near the city limits. He was declared dead at a hospital. The driver has not been charged.
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Swanson set out on the trek to promote the One World Futbol Project, based in Berkeley, Calif., which donates durable blue soccer balls to people in developing countries.
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Police said Palmer's soccer ball was recovered.
Kristi Schwesinger, a close friend of Swanson's, said he had been a private investigator for many years, and switched to a new career as a graphic designer, but was laid off recently, and looking for an adventure.
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"And he loved the game of soccer," she said. "He stumbled on this great organization, One World Futbol, and decided this would be his passion the next year."
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