'Kindest man' killed just moments after helping family of ducks cross a road

A Californian man was hit and killed by a car after helping a group of ducks cross the road.

The man, who has been identified as Casey Rivara, 41, was helping a family of ducklings pass safely, before being hit by a teenage driver shortly after 8pm, according to a press release from the Rocklin Police Department (RPD), in California.

The teenager was headed eastbound on Stanford Ranch Boulevard when they struck Rivara who was in the roadway, heading back to his car after helping the ducklings.

The teenage driver is fully cooperating with the police as part of an ongoing investigation, and no arrests have been made yet.

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His widow, Angel Chow, said in a statement: "We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you for the kind messages and gestures of kindness." He is also survived by their two children.

A temporary memorial site was created at the crash, with locals leaving flowers and rubber ducks.

One witness to the accident, a 12-year-old boy, told NBC affiliate KCRA-TV, "everyone was clapping because he was being really nice." He added that Casey, "was the only person to get out of the car and try to help them and probably the nicest person in the entire area. It’s not fair."

In a GoFundMe, set up by Casey’s aunt, it states that Casey was "driving his children home after the kids" swim practice when they saw a mama duck and ducklings struggling to cross a busy intersection." He then got out of his car "to help the ducks safely across the road." The GoFundMe has raised almost $60,000 from over 900 donations as of Tuesday.

His aunt added, "even his last act in this world was a sign of compassion".

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