A state trooper took some kids out for Halloween fun upon learning their parents died.
Nathan Bradley of the Georgia State Patrol responded to a car accident on October 31, he wrote on Facebook.
A mother and father were killed, and it was up to Bradley to break the news to their four children, CNN reports.
He went to their Morgan County, Georgia house and found the parents' 13-year-old son dressed as Freddy Krueger, 10-year-old daughter in a vampire costume, 8-year-old son as a wizard and 6-year-old son dressed as a Ninja Turtle.
But before Bradley could explain what happened, he discovered the children's closest relative was a grandmother who lived in south Florida.
It would take her seven hours to get there, meaning the kids were in Bradley's custody.
On Facebook, Bradley wrote,
I immediately fell ill. Not only would these children discover they lost both parents, but would spend their Halloween in a county jail until somebody could tend to them; it just wasn't right... I wanted to preserve these kids' Halloween and the ones to come.
Bradley asked the deputy coroner, who was with him at the children's house, for approval to look after the four children until their grandmother arrived, and the request was granted.
So, he didn't tell the children and took them to eat at McDonald's and Burger King, saying they were going out to meet their grandmother.
The kids gleefully chatted with the trooper about their love of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," their father's eight years of military service and being homeschooled by their parents.
Bradley then took the kids on a tour of his post where they watched the film "Monster House" and were greeted by three local residents who heard about the crash and brought candy, toys and more movies.
The sheriff of Morgan County also visited and gave the oldest child a miniature deputy's badge.
When it was time for bed, Bradley asked the kids if they'd like to sleep in the post's bedrooms until their grandmother came.
After being tucked into bed, Bradley said the 10-year-old told him,
You turned an F-Minus day into an A-Plus night!
The kids found out about their parents the following morning.
It will cost $7,000 to transport the victims' remains to Florida, so Bradley started a GoFundMe page on Tuesday to cover the funeral costs.
By Thursday, over $210,000 was raised.
Of the kids, Bradley told WSB-TV,
I care a lot about them and I want to watch them succeed. I don't want this tragedy to shadow the rest of their lives.
He said he plans to stay in touch with the children.
Citations: Cop delays telling children of parents' death, takes care of them on Halloween (CNN), Trooper raising money for kids whose parents died in crash (WSB-TV)
