Life lost during a good deed

In her final moments, Malinda Grossman crouched over a dark road on a cold night, trying to help an injured cat. It was the last act in a lifetime of caring for animals.

Grossman, 60, of Chapel Hill, was hit by a car Saturday night on Jones Ferry Road in rural Orange County. She died instantly, Highway Patrol officials said.

Friends and family, who knew her as Mindi, said she spent years taking in strays. She found her beloved dog by the side of the road years earlier.

"When I heard that's how she had died, I just said, 'That's Mindi,' " said Allie Scales, Grossman's neighbor. "It would be a no-brainer for her to do that. She had a close bond with animals."

Highway Patrol Trooper A.J. Edwards said Grossman was driving on the busy residential road just southwest of Chapel Hill when she saw the cat, which had been hit moments earlier by another driver.

She was bent over next to the animal in the center of the road when a car hit her, Edwards said. Both she and the cat died.

It was around 6:30 p.m., well after sunset, and Grossman was wearing dark clothing. The driver never saw her, Edwards said.

The driver was not speeding, and no charges will be filed in the accident, Edwards said. The speed limit there is 45 mph.

"It was just a bad situation," Edwards said. "It could have happened to anyone."

Grossman's husband, Jan Grossman, said his wife was heading home from a holiday party when she saw the cat. He works out-of-town as a technical consultant and was not home.

Grossman was a native of Indianapolis who had lived in a secluded subdivision outside Chapel Hill for 17 years.

She did not work and had no children. Her husband said she devoted much of her energy to animals and animal rights causes.

She had one cat at the time of her death but had adopted many strays over the years, he said.

"She truly cared for all animals," he said. "She would have stopped if it was a squirrel."

Neighbors said she distinguished herself with her kindness, both toward animals and people.

Melissa Bishop, who has lived across the street for 12 years, said Grossman often took in neighbors' newspapers or cleaned up their yard debris without being asked. A few years ago, Grossman became concerned because Bishop often went jogging before dawn.

"She was worried that I would be hit by a car and got me a headlight," Bishop said.

Not long ago, Scales found a stray cat in the neighborhood and took it to a Chatham County animal rescue. When Grossman found out about it, she offered to help pay for the cat's monthly upkeep.

"That was the kind of thing she did," Scales said. "She was an unassuming person and kind to the core."