On May 24 in Orange, Texas, Riley and Emily Portie were riding on their motorcycle when they were struck by a drunk driver. They were the parents of five children, and they died at the scene.
Officer Eric Ellison, who responded to the scene, had the grim task of reporting the terrible news to the family. When he arrived at the Porties’ home, he found their youngest child, 18-year-old Kazzie Portie, home alone. Needless to say, it was a heartbreaking conversation. To make matters even worse, Kazzie was set to graduate from Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School the following week. He was in complete shock.
In an interview with BuzzFeed News, Ellison describes his decision to support Kazzie: “I said, ‘You are going to walk! Your mom and dad will have front-row seats looking down from heaven, and I’ll stand in their place. I’ve got your back."”
The death of the Porties’ parents hit Ellison especially hard; his own daughter, the same age as Kazzie, had just graduated herself.
Ellison kept his promise. He was there for Kazzie when he walked across the stage. “I felt it was just the right thing to do,” he said.
Kazzie received a standing ovation from his classmates when he accepted his diploma.
Kazzie’s older brother, Blake Henning, posted this video on Facebook.
This was such a special moment. Thank you class of 2015 for making this such a memorable occasion for our family. So proud of you @kazz418 I love you so much. Throughout all of this you have been so strong and we are so proud of you. Thank you for being such a great brother. I am so excited to see what the future holds for you. I know mom and bubba are so proud of you. Again, love you brother and thank you for being who you are.Kazzie Portie
Posted by Blake Henning on Saturday, May 30, 2015
(via BuzzFeed)
As for Kazzie, he felt deep gratitude not only for Ellison’s support, but for that of his classmates as well. “Seeing Officer Ellison there to congratulate me meant the world to me,” he said. “It was so nice to see that he actually showed a genuine care for me and my family’s situation instead of us just being another ‘case."” He continued, “I’ll never be able to thank enough some [of the] people that stayed with me through the days…as well as everyone that helped me in any way at all, and all the people praying for me and my family.”
