Just days before his high school graduation, one Texas teen's parents were killed by a drunk driver.

But Kazzie Portie wasn't alone when he walked on stage to receive his diploma. Police Officer Eric Ellison, who had to break the terrible news to him, was waiting to hug him.

Ellison had been one of the first responders at the scene when Riley and Emily Portie, who had five children, were struck and killed by a drunk driver in Orange, Texas on May 24.

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This is the heartwarming moment Officer Eric Ellison embraced Kazzie Portie on his graduation day, just days after the Orange, Texas cop had to tell the teen his parents were killed by a drunk driver

'Your mom and dad will have front row seats looking down from heaven, and I'll stand in their place. I've got your back,' Ellison said

Kazzie, the couple's youngest son, was home alone when Ellison arrived to tell him the terrible news.

When the 18-year-old told Ellison his graduation was mere days away, the officer told Kazzie he couldn't miss the momentous day.

'I said, "You are going to walk!" Ellison told BuzzFeed News.

'Your mom and dad will have front row seats looking down from heaven, and I'll stand in their place. I've got your back.'

Ellison said he just felt that it was the 'right thing to do' after having to be the 'bearer of bad news'.

The entire stadium at the Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School gave Kazzie a 40-second standing ovation as the teen walked to receive his diploma on Saturday.

And Ellison had kept his word - dressed in his uniform as he waited for teen to reach the end of the stage before they shared an embrace.

The officer had been one of the first responders at the scene when Riley and Emily Portie (pictured), who had five children, were struck and killed by a drunk driver in Orange, Texas on May 24

Kazzie's brother, Blake Henning, told Daily Mail Online there wasn't a dry eye in the stadium as his brother walked and described Ellison as a 'genuine guy'.

'Not only was he the one to inform our family of this tragedy, he was on the scene and stayed with my parents until the paramedics arrived,' he said.

'He was genuinely torn up about the entire accident.'

Henning said his step-father Riley was 'always there for you, no matter what', and that his mother was the kind who 'had dinner cooked every single night', adding that she even prepared everyone's plate.

'Amazing is an understatement,' he said. 'She loved unconditionally and taught us how to do the same.'

'I wouldn't trade the time I had with them for a lifetime with anyone else,' he said.

Henning said Kazzie has been in contact with Ellison since graduation.

Kazzie told BuzzFeed News that seeing Ellison at the end of that stage 'meant the world to me'.

'It was so nice to see that he actually showed a genuine care for me and my family's situation instead of being just another case,' he said.

Ellison wrote on Facebook that he was merely doing what he would want someone else to do if he had left his daughters too soon.

'I just want everybody to remember that through this tragedy, this was all about Kazzie,' he wrote. 'And his day to shine.'

Kazzie said that seeing Ellison (pictured) at the end of that stage 'meant the world to me'