Officer comes to the rescue with cupcakes after 8-year-old's birthday is interrupted by car crash
It was a scary start to an eighth birthday for Journey Huey, who got into a car accident with her grandmother Huli Huey on their way to school Monday morning. But thanks to a police officer who went above and beyond the call of duty, it was a birthday that Journey would never forget.
The New London, Wis., girl spent her Sunday night baking and decorating 16 cupcakes for her class. As she told WLUK, “My grandma helped me, but I mostly did most of the work.” A disaster happened, however, when they headed for school.
“We were going down the highway and taking Jojo to school with her cupcakes for her birthday, and the next thing you know, we weren’t going down the road, we were going across the road,” Huli told the local Wisconsin outlet.
Journey also recalled flipping over, although neither she nor her grandmother knew what had caused the accident. Luckily, Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office deputy Sue Bolwerk came to their rescue to make sure that they left the wreck safely. The cupcakes, however, were a lost cause. Bolwerk tells Yahoo Lifestyle that she was not about to let that ruin the little girl’s birthday.
“When Journey got out of the car, she was holding a pan full of cupcakes, and you could see that the cupcakes inside were thrown around,” Bolwerk explains. “She mentioned that she was bringing the cupcakes for a treat, and one pan fell, but said, ‘That’s OK. I’ll just make more tonight, and we’ll just celebrate my birthday tomorrow at school.'”
As the mother of a 9-year-old herself, Bolwerk felt that to hold the celebration on the next day wasn’t good enough. Instead, she dropped Journey and Huli off at the girl’s school, and then drove a couple of miles to a nearby grocery store to pick up enough cupcakes for the entire class.
When Bolwerk got back to the school with the cupcakes in hand, Journey’s grandmother was still there and was moved to tears by the police officer’s thoughtfulness. Journey was also excited by the surprise.
“I guess I’ve spent my career doing these kinds of things,” Bolwerk tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Stuff I don’t expect to be recognized for; this is just my job.”
Bolwerk says she was hoping to match the little girl’s generosity. “She needed cupcakes on her birthday,” Bolwerk says. “I think she needed it on her birthday.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
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