Officer sings lullaby to distract toddler whose dad died in crash

BRIGHTON, Colo. -- A photo from a tragic Colorado crash scene is going viral after an officer followed his instincts --the instincts of a father. He distracted a 2-year-old girl whose dad had just died by singing her a lullaby.

The accident happened last Thursday near I-76 and Buckley in Brighton, reports KDVR-TV in Denver. A father was killed, and his wife and three of his children were injured. A fourth child -- the youngest -- wasn't hurt.

Brighton Officer Nick Struck was dispatched to the scene.

"We started kind of attending to the kids," he said.

While paramedics worked on the injured, they handed the toddler to Officer Struck.

"She was crying. She was soaked in gasoline from the truck," he said. "The smells ... it was really awful."

As Officer Struck held the child in his arms, he started to think of his own daughter, who is also 2.

"My daughter, who's the sweetest thing in the world, when she falls and cries, she wants 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' sung to her," he said.

So that's the song he started singing to the young accident victim, pointing to the flashing lights of the fire truck.

Jessica Matrious, who saw the accident happen and stopped to help, snapped the photo of Officer Struck and the young girl.

"He was trying to keep her from watching what was going on behind her," she said.

"She put her arm around my shoulder just like my daughter does and that's really when the emotions start kicking in," said Officer Struck.

He also said that any officer who was in the same situation would have done the same.

The crash remains under investigation. Investigators say there was no indication drugs or alcohol were factors, reports KMGH-TV.