Dad saw 4-year-old running into traffic. He tossed her away and got hit by a car

A Georgia father who police say threw himself into harm’s way to save his 4-year-old daughter from speeding traffic is being hailed as a hero, the Waycross Journal-Herald reported.

Dedrick Bacon, a 38-year-old father of four, was walking home from dinner in Waycross, Ga., Friday night with three of his kids when his 4-year-old daughter ran into the street, Action News Jax reported.

He grabbed the girl and tossed her out of the way as a car ran him down, his sister Idella Bacon said, according to the station. “On impact, he picked her up and threw her — and he took the hit for her,” she was quoted as saying in the Action News Jax report. Police said he was placed on life support but later died, according to the station.

Police said the driver who hit Bacon was going about 40 miles per hour and saw Bacon throw the child away from the road, News4Jax reported. The police report noted the driver was in tears and also that it was raining when the incident occurred, according to the station.

“When I learned really what happened, it put ease to me,” Idella Bacon said, as reported by Action News Jax. “It put ease to my heart, my mind that he took the life for her. He took that hit for her. He saved her so she could be here longer and live her life.”

Waycross Police Chief Tony Tanner was quoted in the Waycross Journal-Herald saying the man deserved to be honored.

“What do you call a man who throws himself into harm’s way to save a child? A hero” he said, according to the paper.

A fundraising page was set up to raise money for Bacon’s funeral.

“He was a leader, motivator, a well rounded man who loved everyone. He would give his last to anyone in need. Most definitely looked out for anyone who needed a job. His personality and good spirit will forever live on in hearts and those that he made contact with,” reads the fundraising page, which raised over $4,000 in two days.

The family’s pastor, Chris Padgett, urged changes that would ensure a tragedy like this never happened again, News4Jax reported.

“Right now is time to look at the problem. Not necessarily dwell on what happened or, especially, the past, but look to the future to eliminate this,” Padgett told the station.