Officer Tries to Distract 2-Year-Old Girl After Car Accident

A stock photo shows an ambulance with lights flashing. (Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

A Colorado police officer went viral after trying to distract a little girl whose parents were involved in an accident.

Officer Nick Struck was one of the first to respond to the crash off I-76 near Brighton, Colorado, according to USA Today.

“When you hear that there [are] children involved, I'll tell you what, everyone that responds to that scene, you get that pit in your stomach,” he said.

“The first thing we do when we get on scene is we just try to, if we can comfort anybody, of course we’re going to go to the kids,” Struck stated to the news outlet.

One man—the girl’s father—passed away after the crash. Four children and one woman were injured.

“So then the role we do is, to keep them safe, what would I want that dad to do if it was my daughter,” Struck added.

Struck, who has a 2-year-old daughter, said he sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to the girl.

“I know for my daughter, it’s just the attention that someone is there, listening. It’s the same for adults, but kids, they take it on a whole other level,” he said. “They‘ll gravitate to you, and I remember when I was holding her, she was grabbing the back of my arm, which is something my daughter does. Just stroking to the music, ’Twinkle, twinkle.'”

According to The Mirror, all six passengers were thrown from the vehicle, and none were “properly restrained” by seat belts.

“I’m not a medical person, but I know how to give a hug to somebody, and you better believe every one of those officers on scene would do the same thing,” he said.

Stephanie Greer, the mother of the child, issued a statement about the incident. “I want to say thanks,” she said when asked about the officer.

She said her tire blew out when she was driving on Interstate 76. “I eased the brakes slowly,” Greer was quoted as saying.. “But we were on three tires. I had no control.”

After the crash, her daughter, Sienna, “was crying ... she was soaked in gasoline from the truck. The smells were awful.”

Greer said that if the officer didn’t distract her, she would have witnessed a tragic scene.

Officer Shares Similar Photo in Georgia

A Georgia police officer was seen lying in the grass and comforting a child following a serious car crash.

On Facebook, Kay Denton, another officer, wrote about her colleague, who responded to an accident on Interstate 85. In the photo, an officer is seen comforting the child on the ground.

“This officer was comforting a child who was injured in the accident. This child was an 8-year-old black male who was scared to death and had some internal injuries,” said  Denton on Facebook.

She said the “officer laid on the ground with this child, cradling his head in his hand and talking to him to keep him calm.”

The officers also apparently learned it was the boy’s birthday, leading one to sing “happy birthday” to him.

Meanwhile, Denton wrote that she chose to share the photo to disprove the “bad cop” narrative that’s being pushed in the media.

“This officer laid on the ground with this child, cradling his head in his hand and talking to him to keep him calm,” Denton elaborated in the post.

A number of people praised the officer in the Facebook post.

“We have some awesome police officers in our city who really care about the people! So proud to be from this county!!” wrote one woman.

“So proud of you and the other officers in Commerce for the great example you set for the world,” added another.

Added another: “This is so awesome! Thanks to the men and women that put their lives on the line for us each and everyday! Kay you are a wonderful person and you always been there for me and my family! Oh my is that my brother Jimmy Usher giving a helping hand also! We love our commerce fire and rescue also! Priceless! Any word on how this young boy is doing? Thanks for sharing!”