CHICAGO, May 31 (UPI) -- A Chicago area man was struck and fatally injured by a limousine while trying to help ducklings cross a highway near O'Hare International Airport, police said.
Edward Gardner, 38, of Naperville, Ill., was pronounced dead about four hours after arriving at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.
Illinois State Police said Gardner pulled over when he saw a family of ducklings on the Tri-State Tollway.
Gardner was attempting to get the ducks off the road when he was hit by the limousine.
"That's totally Ed," said his friend Jim Gollwitzer. "He cared about animals. It was one of his passions in life."
Gollwitzer said Gardner had spent his vacations volunteering at a wolf sanctuary in New Mexico.
A spokesman for tollway police told the Chicago Sun-Times no citations were issued against the driver of the limousine.
"It was just a freak accident," the spokesman said.
