October 15, 2021 4.29 pm This story is over 28 months old

Father devastated as beloved dog killed by car while he saved drunk man’s life

“To say this has ripped our family apart is no understatement”

A father saw his beloved dog killed as he saved the life of a drunken man on a busy main road.

Max Williams, who was walking 19-week-old Loki, bravely went into the road and dragged the man out of the busy A16.

Just as he let him go, Loki broke free and began running along the verge.

Max, 34, went into the road again to try and stop the approaching traffic. Sadly, one car did not slow down and hit and killed Loki instantly.

“It was dreadful and has been haunting me since. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in my life,” said his distraught owner.

The driver didn’t stop or report the collision but it’s understood police have traced a vehicle in connection with the incident.

Max says he doesn’t believe the driver was speeding but the road is well lit and he can’t understand why the car didn’t slow down.

“Although my puppy was only a baby he was a Cane Corso so he was a large dog who weighed 36kg. This car must have seen me, the drunken man and my dog,” he added.

Max’s family – including fiancée Becky Waller and three children – are devastated over the tragedy near Tytton Lane East, Wyberton – close to Boston United’s new ground – at about 7.45pm on Tuesday, October 12.

Moments beforehand, Max had seen the drunken man walking in the middle of the road and shouting at a young woman and child.

Max said: “After [he had] two very close calls with cars, I rang 999. While I was on the phone to them he continued to throw himself in front of traffic.

“He was aware of what he was doing. I had to do something to stop him – I would never have been able to live with myself if I’d found out later that he’d been killed.”

Businessman Max says the police have told him they are unhappy about his own efforts to trace the driver of the vehicle which killed Loki, including a social media offering a reward for information and trying to gather CCTV footage from nearby premises.

“And worse still they say I might be liable for any damage to the car,” Max added.

It could be deemed that he did not have proper control of Loki but Max believes video footage from na cyclist will clear him of any blame.

The clip of the harness is broken but it’s not clear whether this happened as Loki got free or it was damaged in the collision.

Max said: “I’ve gone over it a million times in my head. It was a pull. The one thing I hope from people take away from me sharing this story is that they are extra careful on the roads – life can change so quickly.”

He added: “The impact this has had on my family is unreal. We waited five years to get Loki, we travelled abroad to get a certain breeder, spent tens of thousands of pounds on training and more importantly he was our youngest son.

“To say this has ripped our family apart is no understatement. My children are heartbroken and Becky has been unable to leave the house since – they spent 24 hours a day together.”

Max said Loki was a caring and gentle dog, loved by everyone whom he came into came into contact with. He featured on Instagram and had done advertising for dog food brands and dog clothing company.

“He was incredibly photogenic and loved being the star of the show,” added Max. Loki was regarded as the youngest son of the family.