CONCORD -- A Concord man walking across the country to protest abortion was killed in Indiana early Friday when he was hit by a car driving on a highway, according to the sheriff's department there.

Investigators said Andrew Moore, 20, had been walking with a woman in a small grass median separating the eastbound and westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 40 in Danville, Ind., about 25 miles southwest of Indianapolis. He might have stepped into the roadway about 5 a.m., when a man driving to work struck and killed him, officials said.

The driver did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and there were no indications he had driven off the roadway, Hendricks County sheriff's Lt. Jim Yetter said.

It was too early in the investigation to be certain, Yetter said, but it appeared the young man had been dropped off nearby and might have thought the road was just two lanes rather than a four, especially since it was dark.

The young woman walking with Moore was unhurt, Yetter said, but "she was extremely upset, very shaken up."

It appears to be an accident, Yetter said. "The driver tried to swerve and it didn't appear there was any wrongdoing on his part. And these kids are obviously just trying to be part of a cause walking to Washington and they're just not familiar with the area. I think it's just a tragic string of events."

Moore had volunteered in May with Crossroads, a Maryland-based nonprofit dedicated, in part, to

peaceful public outreach opposing abortion, according to the organization's president, Jim Nolan. Moore had been working with a group of seven other people, including the woman with him when he died, walking from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.

"The family knows what happened," Nolan said. "They're currently making funeral arrangements, and we are working with them, assisting them in whatever they need."

Crossroads has suspended operations for the time being, Nolan added, "to tend to the needs of our volunteers, help them cope with their loss and ensure that we're doing everything we can to make sure they are as safe as possible."

Moore had been wearing a reflective vest when he was hit, Yetter said, but it had not been enough for the driver to see him in time.

Nolan said he had not known Moore well, but as a volunteer, "he was a generous, kind, warm person, the kind of person everyone gets along with really well. You know those guys you meet and you just know right away, 'That's a really nice guy?' He was one of them."

Moore had hoped to become a priest. "We're devastated by the loss," Nolan said.

Contact Sean Maher at 925-943-8013. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/OneSeanMaher.