By Canadian Press

Samaritan, 80, who died after pushing woman from path of vehicle always helpful: son

Mar 12, 2024 | 2:23 PM

The son of an 80-year-old Alberta man who died on Vancouver Island after helping a woman involved in a crash says it was in his dad’s nature to help others before “tragedy took him.” 

Ronald Hare of Calgary says his father Patrick Hare was the kind of person to hold doors open for people and help out whenever he could. 

RCMP say a suspected impaired driver hit the woman’s damaged vehicle which was partially on the road, striking the pair who were standing nearby, and Hare “likely saved her life” by pushing the woman out of the way. 

Hare says his father had only been on Vancouver Island for a few hours on March 2 when he stopped to help the woman, and he died in hospital days later. 

Hare says his dad’s death has left his friends and family struggling with the loss, “his grandchildren, especially.” 

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He says the loss feels “senseless,” but he and his family want to remember him as a dedicated family man whose last act was heroic. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2024. 

The Canadian Press