Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
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ORANGE, Texas — On May 24, Lt. Eric Ellison had to tell 18-year-old Kazzie Porter that his parents were killed by a drunk driver less than a week before he was to graduate from high school.
Riley and Emily Portie were out riding their motorcycles in their hometown of Orange, Texas, Sunday, May 24, when a pickup truck crashed into them, according to 12newsnow.com.
Kazzie, the youngest of five siblings, was the only one at home when Ellison showed up to give the devastating news. When he mentioned he didn’t know what he was going to do about graduating, Ellison already had an answer.
“I said, ‘You are going to walk,’” Ellison told BuzzFeed News. “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.”
Ellison told 12 News that telling Kazzie that his parents were killed was one of the most difficult of his career. He kept his promise to be there at graduation.
Kazzie walked across the stage to a standing ovation — and Ellison was waiting to give him a hug.
[You are so loved, Kazzie Portie.](https://instagram.com/p/3U3aruMMaQ/) A photo posted by @lcmbearfacts on
Blake Henning, Kazzie’s older brother, [captured the moment on camera](https://www.facebook.com/Blakey378/videos/vb.1050959350/10205949797557978/?type=2&theater).
Kazzie told Buzzfeed that it “meant the world” to him that Ellison came to his graduation.
“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,'" she said.
