MERRILL, Mich. (AP/WWJ) - Authorities say a mid-Michigan man was fatally struck by a car while trying to remove his daughter's dead cat from a roadway before she saw it.
According to the Saginaw County Sheriff's Office, 50-year-old Andrew Rosas of Merrill, about 95 miles northwest of Detroit, was struck before sunrise Tuesday by a woman who was driving to work and apparently didn't see him.
Jennifer Rosas told WNEM that her husband went into the street with a shovel to remove the cat and held up the shovel to try to get the driver's attention.
"She just plowed into him, didn't put on her brakes, nothing," the woman told the TV station. "I saw the whole thing."
A GoFundMe page has been set-up to help the family with funeral expenses. On it, a family member wrote: "Please, please pay attention while you're driving, even taking your eyes off the road for a couple seconds can result in death. Andrew would do anything for anybody and that's what he was doing during his last moments on this earth....with his big heart, he was trying to protect his daughters heart from seeing her cat."
The sheriff's office said Andrew Rosas was wearing dark clothing when he was hit.
It's unclear at this time what charges the driver, identified as a 32-year-old Merrill woman, may face as an investigation continues. The case will be reviewed by prosecutors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
