I caused the death of a running partner

Although the weather is amazing, today's run included in a tragic event.  A running partner that I have been running with for months fell to his tragic death.  The story of his death follows:

Any run that starts from home includes a pass through the "tree tunnel".  The first 3 miles of the road is corn and bean fields except about a 200 meter stretch where huge oak trees line the road and have created a tunnel.  In the summer, this tunnel is the only shade in that three mile stretch.  This winter, the tree tunnel became a race course.

More often than not, a squirrel would meet me at the start and race to the end.  He would jump from branch to branch while trying to stay ahead of me.  I always lost the race, but it was a great 200 meter sprint.  
 
Today, the weather is an incredible 65 degrees which is amazing since two days ago the high was 20.  I went out at lunch for my run and headed toward the tree tunnel.  The plan called for half mile repeats so I was ready to give Mr. Squirrel a good run today.  Sure enough, I entered the tree tunnel and could see him bounding from limb to limb.  He must have been enjoying the weather as well because he was moving exceptionally fast.  All of a sudden, there was an odd screeching sound and Mr. Squirrel landed about 3 feet in front of me.  I looked up and there was a dangling branch about 25 feet above us. 

I kept running hoping he was just in shock.  On my return to the tree tunnel, it was obvious that Mr. Squirrel did not survive his fall.  Not sure why but I felt compelled to grab a stick and push him off the road.  It was fun while it lasted.