Breaking down on highway 170 can be a nightmare, Charvia Watkis has just experienced it with her son Jeriah, who is autistic.
Charvia had picked up her son early from school because he wasn’t feeling well, and circumstances would only get worse when their vehicle stalled in the middle of the incredibly busy highway.
Jeriah was getting quite stressed with all the noise, the heat, and mostly, the rushing cars that happened to be passing them by on the road. In fact, it was so distressing that he even had to put on a pair of earmuffs just to help him keep the extreme sounds out.
That’s when a South Carolina state trooper went above and beyond to help soothe an autistic boy after his mother’s car broke down and they were stuck on the side of the highway.
Adam Klimek, a state trooper in South Carolina, let the mother and son sit in his patrol car with him and then made sure the boy was comfy and relaxed.
“Officer Klimek found ways to occupy him while I was trying to make phone calls to find out how long it was going to be for the tow truck to come and it was hard for me to concentrate on that and tend to Jeriah at the same time.”
“I knew that he was having problems, so when i invited them back to my car, we talked about his interests and one of his interests was playing on his iPad actually, I asked him what do you like to do on your iPad, and he said watch Netflix, so I knew right then. I got my computer out, logged into my Netflix and had him choose his own movie to watch while we waited for the tow truck. He chose ‘Curious George,’ one of his favorites.”
Watkis says trooper Klimek took what could have been a terrible situation and went above the call of duty to make sure they were ok.
“I really don’t think I went above and beyond, I treated them like I hope my family would be treated if they were on the side of the road,” Klimek commented.
Watkis says she will never forget the kindness shown to her and her son.
“I just want to tell him thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts, and we really appreciate you.”
According to Opposing Views, many readers applauded the police officer for his good deed.
“Police angel sent from God!” added another. “Thank you for your compassion.”
Sources: OpposingViews, WBTW
Thomas Cooper