A South Australian pilot and father-of-two has been killed after he was hit by a car while crossing a freeway in California, in the US.
Gary Clarke, 56, from Adelaide, was living and working in Sacramento as a first responder helicopter pilot.
Last week, his wife of 30 years, Karen, who was at home in Adelaide, became concerned when she could not reach him via phone or email for several days.
Friend Kylie Payne said after the family contacted Clarke’s workplace for answers, they were told he had been killed in a crash on May 4.
Payne said Clarke was expected to return home to his family on May 18.
“They’re coping as well as can be expected,” Payne said.
“He was a great dad, he worked away to support his family and made sure they had what they needed.
“He was definitely the life of the part. Everybody liked him, Gary was everybody’s friend. He was really a vivacious person,” Payne said.
Local media reported Clarke attempted to cross the northbound shoulder of the Interstate 5 in Natomas, Sacramento when he was hit by a 30-year-old driver at 3.30am. He died at the scene.
Clarke leaves behind two children in their twenties, who he was very close to, Payne said.
On behalf of the family, his wife said in a statement, Clarke was “larger than life” and left a positive impression on everyone he met.
“He was the most sociable man I’d ever met, and made friends everywhere he went,” Karen said.
Karen said her husband told his friends, “if ever anything happened to him …. bring him home to and bury him here in the Adelaide Hills”.
Payne launched an online fundraiser to help with the cost of bringing Clarke’s body home, which she estimated would cost about $50,000.
About $32,000 has been raised in four days.
