Officer Supports Teen He Gave Tragic News To

A photo showing the embrace between a police officer from Orange, Texas and a high school graduate has gone viral.

Lt. Eric Ellison was tasked with breaking the tragic news to 18-year-old Kazzie Portie about his parents' death less than a week before he was set to walk across the stage, according to KBMT-TV.

Riley and Emily Portie died on May 24 when a pickup truck slammed into their motorcycle. The driver, Travis Collins, faces two charges of intoxication manslaughter.

Ellison told the news station that breaking the news to the couple's youngest child was one of the toughest tasks of his 21-year career. On Saturday, he made sure he was the first to congratulate Kazzie on stage after during the graduation ceremony for Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School.

"I walked up on the stage he looked at me and I looked at him and we both cried and that's OK," he said. "I told him 'you're going to walk and your folks are going to have a front row seat and I'm going to be there.' "

The audience could be heard erupting in cheers.

A photo of the two embracing that was taken by Lindsey Standley Fruge has gained a lot of attention on Facebook and a BuzFeed story shared on the social media site had been liked more than 53,000 times as of Monday afternoon.