Two Colorado brothers now have a beautiful way to remember their late father, all thanks to a selfless man with a huge sense of compassion.
Sam Brownlee, a Weld County Sheriff's deputy, was killed in the line of duty a few years ago, 9 News reported. His sons, Tanner and Chase, wanted to have their late father's patrol car which was being auctioned off for charity, according to KMGH. On Wednesday night, Tanner attended the auction, but was outbid by a man named Steve Wells.
Wells, a local rancher, surprised Tanner by immediately handing the keys over.
Posted by Weld County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Stephen Wells giving Tanner Brownlee the keys to Sam Brownlee's patrol car.
“Tanner, here is your car," Wells, who won the $12,500-value car for $60,000, told the tearful young man, according to KMGH.
Tanner, who was 15 years old when his father died, was committed to winning the car and even set up a GoFundMe account to help him do so. The vehicle was a huge part of the late deputy's memory.
"This is kind of the end of Sam's legacy here. It's the last tangible thing we have that he was connected to," Sheriff Steve Reams said, according to KMGH.
While at the auction, which was held to benefit the organization Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS), the devoted son had lost hope when the bids began getting higher and higher, according to CBS News. He told KMGH that if he was outbid, he hoped that someone would be generous enough to give the car to him and his brother.
Luckily, Wells was.
The gesture, Tanner said, really struck a chord with him.
“This is just so huge," Tanner told CBS. "I mean, me and my dad built a fence and stuff, but having something I can use, and drive around that he drove around -- it just means a lot.”
The brothers drove home in their father's car after the auction -- exactly what Tanner had been hoping to do that day, CBS reported.
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