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MEAD, Okla. (KXII/Gray News) - An Oklahoma family says they are mourning the loss of their beloved father and husband.

Family members say Stefan Severini, 55, was helping a crying baby who was involved in a crash last Sunday after he came across a collision near U.S. 70.

Mary Davis, Severini’s wife, said he was trying to help the other family when the tragedy unfolded right in front of her.

“We came up on a wreck and I pulled close to the car. Stephan got out, checked on the guy to see if he was OK, and heard a baby crying and screaming,” Davis said. “He did not think twice. He took off across the highway to try to get to the baby, and a truck hit him and killed him.”

Keon Christie, 23, is facing charges that include homicide and DUI.

According to police, Christie was the driver who hit Severini on the roadway.

“It’s just so hard to know he’s gone,” Davis said.

Nearing the Fourth of July, Davis is urging drunken drivers to think more about their own safety and others around them before operating a vehicle.

“If you feel the need to drink and drive, call somebody,” she said. “I don’t care. Call me. I will come to get you, but please do not get behind the wheel of the car and make somebody else suffer the pain that our family is suffering.”

Davis said their family needs prayer more than anything after losing her husband.

She said Severini was a great cook and handyman who loved to fish. He leaves behind 10 children and 18 grandchildren.

“He’s leaving behind a legacy,” Davis said. “A host of nieces, nephews, friends and family. He would always tell me to do the right thing, and that night he did the right thing, and he died a hero.”

Shiloh, Severini’s stepdaughter, set up a GoFundMe for her father’s funeral arrangements.