To donate to the Howard children, go to www.gofundme.com/wreckonhalloween
There wasn’t enough red face paint to make 8-year-old Daimean Howard into an angry wizard for Halloween. The red was spread as far as it would go, but looked mostly pink.
And what about some extra candy, mom and dad?
Like countless other parents, a Morgan County couple made a quick run to the store late Halloween afternoon to pick up last-minute goodies.
But as Donald and Crystal Howard hurried back toward home they took a curve too fast, the Georgia State Patrol said. The couple’s SUV, a 2015 Dodge Journey, careened into a ditch and went airborne before smashing into a tree.They were only about a quarter-mile from their Newborn house.
In a split second, the young family was ripped apart. Donald, who went by D.J., and Crystal died in the crash. Donald was 33 and Crystal 29.
Trooper First Class Nathan Bradley was in his patrol car when he heard the details of the wreck come over the radio. He drove to the accident scene then toward the couple’s home.
When Bradley arrived, he was greeted by four costumed children giddy for the night of trick or treating to begin.
There was no way Bradley could tell them their parents wouldn’t be returning. Their closest relative, a grandmother, lived in Florida. She was on her way, but at least seven hours remained before she would arrive to help break the news.
Bradley eyed the kids. The youngest, 6-year-old Tayvion, was a firefighting Ninja Turtle. Daimean, with his not quite red face, was a wizard. The boys’ 10-year-old sister, Amiah, was the daughter of Dracula. And the oldest, 13-year-old Justin, was Freddy Krueger. From behind a screen door, Justin told Bradley his parents had gone to the store and would return soon.
Bradley could have collected the kids and turn them over to social workers until their grandmother arrived. But he couldn’t do it, he said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Instead, the 24-year-old trooper decided he’d just take care of them himself.
“Anyone hungry?” he asked.
Again, the Howard children mentioned their parents would be arriving soon.
“It was important to me that I would not lie to them,” Bradley said. “I acknowledged their statement and threw out that their grandmother would be meeting with us later that evening.”
Minutes later, Bradley had four passengers buckled up inside his patrol car, and all four were hungry for something different After a quick trip to McDonald’s for fries and a Happy Meal, the group descended on Burger King.
The children and their new trooper friend turned heads, Bradley said. The restaurant manager said they could stay as long as they wanted and gave each child a crown to wear. Justin hugged her tightly and said, “We give hugs in our family.”
Bradley worked to divert the kids’ attention, asking them questions and telling them about his job. The children were chatty, telling Bradley about their parents and their favorite TV shows. It was almost as if nothing had happened.
But Justin, at 13, knew something wasn’t quite right, and he pulled Bradley aside.
“Trooper, are you going to be honest with me?” Justin asked.
Bradley put his arm around the boy and looked him in the eyes.
“Buddy, everything’s going to be alright,” Bradley told the boy. “There will be a time for me to be honest with you, but I don’t want to focus on that right now. Trust me, I will tell you everything.”
Bradley drove the kids to his GSP post where everyone worked to keep them busy.
Three residents who had heard the news and felt the need to help showed up with decorated goodie bags of candy and small toys, which excited the kids. The local sheriff arrived later carrying four buckets of candy.
After a night of movies and treats, all four children were asleep in makeshift bedrooms at the GSP post when their grandmother, Stephanie Oliver, arrived in the early-morning hours Sunday. When the four children woke up, they were told their parents wouldn’t be coming home.
“We hoped that they would then relate the tragedy to Nov. 1, rather than Halloween,” Bradley said.
Oliver called her daughter back in Florida, Sharlee Dismuke, to tell her the children now knew the bad news. Dismuke said she was still struggling to believe her brother and sister-in-law were gone.
“I heard the little ones crying,” Dismuke said.
Dismuke said she can’t help but cry, too. But Tuesday, Dismuke made room for four more children in the home she shares with her mother, 9-year-old son and a niece.
Oliver plans to return to Florida on Wednesday with her son’s children.
Donald Howard, who had been released from the Army on a medical discharge, and his wife didn't have any real ties to Georgia. But the Howards enjoyed life in slow-paced Morgan County, south of Athens, where they home-schooled their kids and had six dogs. The home was filled with love and affection, Dismuke said. Hugs were plentiful.
The family is thankful the children will be able to stay together, just as their parents would have wanted, Dismuke said. But her own mother is dealing with several medical conditions and must have an additional surgery, Dismuke said. Plus, there isn’t enough space in the family’s current home.
“Everything’s going to fall on me, and I’m stressed about it,” Dismuke said. “I’ve only had my child and my niece. Six kids? That’s a lot.”
Officer Bradley said his job didn’t end when the children’s grandmother arrived. He wanted to do more to help, so he set up a GoFundMe page hoping to raise enough money to have the Howards buried in Florida.
“I wanted the parents to be where the kids were going to be,” Bradley said. “That was the goal.”
In less than 24 hours, donations topped $33,000. By late Wednesday afternoon morning, that total climbed more than $110,000.
“My mom can get a bigger house for these kids,” Dismuke posted on her Facebook page. “God is so good!”
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