Bronx Man Dies Trying to Save Cat from Tree

An animal-loving Bronx man died plunged to his death while trying to rescue a cat from a tree early Monday, according to multiple reports. 

Marcial Rios-Aguilar hooked a rope to a branch and used it to climb the tree where the cat was stranded near Bronx Park East and Allerton Avenue, but the branch snapped and he fell. The 53-year-old man, who relatives say was a "nice man" who loved animals, was killed by the fall around 3 a.m. 
 
Family members told the Daily News Rios-Aguilar, who emigrated from Mexico two decades ago, was known around the neighborhood for buying stray cats food and may have been out at that hour looking for recyclables. 
 
The fire department rescued the cat from the tree and named it Smoky. 
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