Cat Rescue Attempt On Florida's Turnpike Leads To Fatal Crash

A man trying to rescue a cat on Florida's Turnpike Monday was hit by a car that crashed, killing the other driver and leaving rush hour traffic in gridlock.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports Michael James Schneider of Tequesta pulled his pickup truck over around 5:15 p.m. in order to rescue a cat he saw running across the Turnpike near Deerfield Beach, Florida Highway Patrol investigators said.

Schneider was then struck by a woman in a Honda Accord, whose car went off the road with Schneider on the hood and crashed into his truck and a guardrail, according to the Miami Herald. The impact sent Schneider flying.

"[He] walked into the center lane, was hit by a vehicle," FHP Sgt. Mark Wysocky told the Sun-Sentinel. "That vehicle then veered to the right with the [man] riding on the hood, ran off the road and hit the pickup truck, hit the guardrail and ejected the [man] off the hood of the car into the grass shoulder."

The Herald reports that the driver of the Accord was pronounced dead after being extricated from the wreckage, while Schneider is in critical condition.

The cat died at the scene, Local10 reports.