A California father was killed when he shoved his family out of the path of a runaway car — taking the hit himself.
Adam Bouvet, 50, was walking back from lunch with his wife, two daughters and infant grandchild during a trip to Texas last month when tragedy struck, according to Facebook posts from the family.
As an out-of-control car jumped the curb, Bouvet shoved his family out of the way and took the brunt of the impact, relatives said.
“As we were walking back home from behind us we heard loud screeching,” his wife, Tracy Bouvet, recalled in a heartbreaking Facebook post of the Oct. 25 incident in Dallas.
“In a second I was knocked down only to get up and not see my husband. I found him in front of the car that hit us,” she wrote. “He took the hit to save us all.”
While his family was mostly unscathed, Bouvet was left with head trauma.
Bouvet lingered unconscious in the ICU for several days before succumbing to his wounds, his family said.
He’d been in Dallas to watch his school-aged grandson play football, according to a Facebook post.
The hero dad was the longtime co-owner of The Mill, a popular restaurant in Murrieta, in Southern California, which his wife managed.
“He was a pillar in the community so for us, there was no question in that we wouldn’t help him out,” Murrieta restaurant owner Danny Kessler told told KTLA 5, adding that the local restaurant community banded together to raise money for Bouvet’s medical care and then, later, for his funeral expenses.
“You walk into The Mill and you just expect him to still be there,” Brad Neet, a close friend, told the outlet.
“There’s a huge hole in my heart. But not only in my heart, but also the community’s, his family and everyone that he knew and loved,” Neet said.