Fatal accident ends activist’s barefoot cross-country trek

Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach)

Jan. 24--A man struck and killed in Walton County on Saturday was a climate and social justice activist walking across the U.S. barefoot to "save the Earth."

Mark Baumer was on his 101st day of the barefooted trek when he was struck by a Westville woman who failed to stay in her lane. Charges against 51-year-old Sonja Siglar are pending, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Baumer, who was 33, would have been in Ohio on Saturday if a blizzard hadn't forced him on a more southern pass.

The activist was trying to raise $10,000 in support of the Rhode Island non-profit The FANG Collective (Fighting Against Natural Gas).

"Everyone who knew Mark knew what a great human he was," said Nick Katkevich, co-founder of the The FANG Collective.

"We are shocked and devastated," he added. "We know that he understood the risks while taking this journey. But, he also knew the risks of climate change and social injustice. He did it anyway to raise awareness."

Supporters could follow Baumer's journey through his daily blogs and videos posted on social media and his crowdfunding page on youcaring.com. His last video blog, posted at 8:16 a.m. Saturday, showed him walking from DeFuniak Springs to Mossy Head. In the video he shared his negative feelings about the Trump inauguration as he picked up trash discarded along the roadway.

"Your ignorance is killing people," Baumer shouted in the video.

Katkevich said he believed Baumer's last post was about him coming to grips with the new administration that actively denies climate change.

"He was angry," Katkevich said. "It was anger coming from a place of compassion because of a president who doesn't believe in climate change. He had a gentle spirit though. He was just frustrated like a lot of us were.

"We are going to find a way to commemorate his life," he continued. "We're going to keep fighting and campaigning. He would have wanted us to keep pushing forward."

Baumer, originally from South Durham, Maine, was a web content specialist at a library in Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from Brown University in 2011 and completed a 81-day cross-country walk with shoes in 2010. Baumer always wore a reflective vest for safety. He said in a video it was given to him by his grandmother, who worried he would be hit by a car.

In an Instagram post the day he died, Baumer included a photo of an arrow pointing to a pipeline with the word, "killed," written with yellow spray paint. Baumer was able to take the trip after winning a $5,000 poetry fellowship.

"Climate change is humanity's greatest threat," Baumer said on his website. "Everyday corporations continue to profit from earth's destruction. I decided [to] cross America barefoot to see if I could save earth. I know this is a lofty goal, but I hope through my walk I can raise awareness about climate change."

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