Kazzie Portie had the most heartwarming -- and heartbreaking -- high school graduation.

Portie, 18, graduated from Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School, in Orange, Tex. The event was highlighted when the officer who informed him his parents had died showed up and gave him a hug.

A picture of the embrace appeared on Instagram and struck a chord:

Portie's parents died May 24 when they were struck by a drunk driver. Lt. Eric Ellison had to tell Portie his parents had died. Ellison described the encounter at the graduation.

I walked up on the stage he looked at me and I looked at him and we both cried and that's OK. "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.'"

When Portie's name was called, everyone on hand screamed for him, adding some more drama to the moment:

Ellison said Portie will somehow manage to put the pieces back together, saying, "The life struggles you see out here, it was rough on the kid, on the family. Sometimes life is not fair but you have to go on and I think Kazz is going to do that."

The first step in Portie doing that? He still plans to go to college.

More From Mix 94.1