A man who was dribbling a football 10,000 miles from the US to Brazil in flip-flops in time for the 2014 World Cup has been run over by a pickup truck.
Richard Swanson, 42, was hit as he made his way down a road in the US state of Oregon just two weeks into his epic trip.
He had started of the trek in flip-flops and had been sleeping on the couches of people he had met on the way.
The football fanatic had left Seattle in Washington state on May 1 and was planning to walk for more than a year through 11 countries before reaching Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Mr Swanson, a father of two, had recently been laid off from his job as a graphic designer, according to close friend Kristi Schwesinger.
Kristi Schwesinger: ‘He was at a point in his life where he had raised his kids,’ she 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.
‘And he loved the game of soccer.'