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MORGAN COUNTY, Ga. – A Georgia State Patrol Trooper went above and beyond the call of duty after a Halloween tragedy.
Four Morgan County children lost both of their parents as they were getting ready to trick or treat Saturday.
Donald and Crystal Howard left their home in Newborn to buy face paint and Halloween candy. They were killed instantly when their SUV flew off the road and hit a tree.
Trooper Nathan Bradley arrived at the home to break the news of the tragedy.
Unfortunately, I was greeted by four children in full costumes,” Bradley said.
With their grandmother’s permission, Bradley didn’t tell the children, who ranged in age from 6 to 13, that their parents had died.
“The first thing I said was, ‘Hey lets go get something to eat,’” Bradley said. “They said, ‘My parents will be here soon.’ I said, ‘Your Grandma wants you to hang out with me till she gets here.;”
Bradley treated Justin, Amaya, Damien and Travion to dinner, movies and Halloween candy at the Monroe State Patrol post followed by a sleepover.
“The whole purpose was to preserve their Halloween,” said Bradley said.
They weren't told about their parents’ accident until the next morning when their grandmother arrived.
Bradley also started a GoFundMe page for funeral expenses so that Crystal and Donald can be buried in Florida, where the children are moving in with grandparents.
All the kindness came from a young state trooper who didn't want to ruin Halloween for his four new friends.
rest of story at link.
Nice, but wrong. As they teach you in hospital work, don't delay notification and don't mince your words. "I'm sorry, but your ____ is dead". Pause...
Family being there or not made no difference. They needed to be cared for by adults, they also should have been told as soon as possible. That kind of thing you do not lie about, even for a short time, and he had to tell some big damn lies that night, over and over again.I disagree PMH....he should not be the one to break it to underage children without a guardian or adult present. He did the best in an awful situation - these aren't adults, these are children.
A good man did a good thing. Nice find!
A good man did a good thing. Nice find!
Yes, and for which the left will pillory him. Remember, on Planet Liberal (formerly America) no good deed goeth unpunished!
Family being there or not made no difference. They needed to be cared for by adults, they also should have been told as soon as possible. That kind of thing you do not lie about, even for a short time.I disagree PMH....he should not be the one to break it to underage children without a guardian or adult present. He did the best in an awful situation - these aren't adults, these are children.
Mom and Dad were getting cold and they went to the movies? That will not play well over time.
Not a chance. And Halloween is as dead to them as their parents. It was even though they weren't told when they should have been.Family being there or not made no difference. They needed to be cared for by adults, they also should have been told as soon as possible. That kind of thing you do not lie about, even for a short time.I disagree PMH....he should not be the one to break it to underage children without a guardian or adult present. He did the best in an awful situation - these aren't adults, these are children.
Mom and Dad were getting cold and they went to the movies? That will not play well over time.
Or maybe it will.
Not a chance. And Halloween is as dead to them as their parents. It was even though they weren't told when they should have been.Family being there or not made no difference. They needed to be cared for by adults, they also should have been told as soon as possible. That kind of thing you do not lie about, even for a short time.I disagree PMH....he should not be the one to break it to underage children without a guardian or adult present. He did the best in an awful situation - these aren't adults, these are children.
Mom and Dad were getting cold and they went to the movies? That will not play well over time.
Or maybe it will.
You miss the point, that helps their coping not at all. Their world ended that night, it doesn't matter a damn who was there and the delay, that was a serious and unfair lie. You can't soften death, and should never try.Not a chance. And Halloween is as dead to them as their parents. It was even though they weren't told when they should have been.Family being there or not made no difference. They needed to be cared for by adults, they also should have been told as soon as possible. That kind of thing you do not lie about, even for a short time.I disagree PMH....he should not be the one to break it to underage children without a guardian or adult present. He did the best in an awful situation - these aren't adults, these are children.
Mom and Dad were getting cold and they went to the movies? That will not play well over time.
Or maybe it will.
Maybe or maybe not, but I think it is far better to have the news broken to them, with a family member like the grandmother present to help them cope - not a bunch of strangers.
You miss the point, that helps their coping not at all. Their world ended that night, it doesn't matter a damn who was there and the delay, that was a serious and unfair lie. You can't soften death, and should never try.Not a chance. And Halloween is as dead to them as their parents. It was even though they weren't told when they should have been.Family being there or not made no difference. They needed to be cared for by adults, they also should have been told as soon as possible. That kind of thing you do not lie about, even for a short time.I disagree PMH....he should not be the one to break it to underage children without a guardian or adult present. He did the best in an awful situation - these aren't adults, these are children.
Mom and Dad were getting cold and they went to the movies? That will not play well over time.
Or maybe it will.
Maybe or maybe not, but I think it is far better to have the news broken to them, with a family member like the grandmother present to help them cope - not a bunch of strangers.
So instead of that, and they would have stayed at the house and adults would have come to them, they lived a lie while mom and dad got cold. You can't soften death, and you can't lie about it either.You miss the point, that helps their coping not at all. Their world ended that night, it doesn't matter a damn who was there and the delay, that was a serious and unfair lie. You can't soften death, and should never try.Not a chance. And Halloween is as dead to them as their parents. It was even though they weren't told when they should have been.Family being there or not made no difference. They needed to be cared for by adults, they also should have been told as soon as possible. That kind of thing you do not lie about, even for a short time.
Mom and Dad were getting cold and they went to the movies? That will not play well over time.
Or maybe it will.
Maybe or maybe not, but I think it is far better to have the news broken to them, with a family member like the grandmother present to help them cope - not a bunch of strangers.
If there world ended that night - what difference does it make if the message is delayed a day? You can't soften it, but you can help them cope with it. And that is what this is. Instead of spending the night in a police station wondering what was going to happen to them.
So instead of that, and they would have stayed at the house and adults would have come to them, they lived a lie while mom and dad got cold. You can't soften death, and you can't lie about it either.You miss the point, that helps their coping not at all. Their world ended that night, it doesn't matter a damn who was there and the delay, that was a serious and unfair lie. You can't soften death, and should never try.Not a chance. And Halloween is as dead to them as their parents. It was even though they weren't told when they should have been.Or maybe it will.
Maybe or maybe not, but I think it is far better to have the news broken to them, with a family member like the grandmother present to help them cope - not a bunch of strangers.
If there world ended that night - what difference does it make if the message is delayed a day? You can't soften it, but you can help them cope with it. And that is what this is. Instead of spending the night in a police station wondering what was going to happen to them.
No, no matter who was there, who they wanted to be there were the two people who couldn't be there, and no one could make up for that, not even a tiny bit.So instead of that, and they would have stayed at the house and adults would have come to them, they lived a lie while mom and dad got cold. You can't soften death, and you can't lie about it either.You miss the point, that helps their coping not at all. Their world ended that night, it doesn't matter a damn who was there and the delay, that was a serious and unfair lie. You can't soften death, and should never try.Not a chance. And Halloween is as dead to them as their parents. It was even though they weren't told when they should have been.
Maybe or maybe not, but I think it is far better to have the news broken to them, with a family member like the grandmother present to help them cope - not a bunch of strangers.
If there world ended that night - what difference does it make if the message is delayed a day? You can't soften it, but you can help them cope with it. And that is what this is. Instead of spending the night in a police station wondering what was going to happen to them.
You can make choices how to present it, and if that means delaying it until a family member is there - and frankly, with children that young, I think a family member, if available SHOULD be there - is not a bad thing. I think if I were a child, that young - I would appreciate it, and I would want my grandmother.
This may work with an adult, but it was a group of kids that had to be given the bad news. To me, what that cop did is what should have been done and actually this kind of thing hasn't been done with just kids, but it has been done with adults too. When country singer Toby Keith lost his dad, those who knew that his dad had done didn't tell Toby until after his show that day had taken place. They knew that if he had found out before the show, there wouldn't have been a show and so they waited until his show was out of the way which I think was an understandable move since so many people had come to see Toby sing. A last minute delay or cancellation would have only made things worse.Nice, but wrong. As they teach you in hospital work, don't delay notification and don't mince your words. "I'm sorry, but your ____ is dead". Pause...
