When young Carter Brown passed away in a car crash, Kaylee Suders no longer had any intentions of going to her senior prom.
But Carter’s father, Robert Brown, had other ideas. They were both grieving and heartbroken at the time, but it would be a shame to miss such a wonderful evening.
Carter Brown was just 19 when he lost his life on April 15, 2018.
It was a three-vehicle crash that occurred in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Carter somehow crossed into the opposite lane of traffic where he hit the rear driver’s side of a vehicle.
Sadly, he then collided with another car head-on.
Carter Brown was a freshman at Indiana State University where he was studying culinary arts.
He decided to drive over and surprise Kaylee, as shared by her mom, Christina Nicholas. Kaylee became concerned as she was waiting for him since he was taking a long time to arrive.
Her mom suggested that maybe he got stuck in traffic but Kaylee insisted that Carter should have been there by then.
That’s when they received the call from Kelly Brown, Carter’s mother… Everyone’s worlds were shattered.
By the end of that horrible week, Robert realized that Kaylee had to go and experience her senior prom. He also knew that his son would not want her to miss that special evening.
Carter wasn’t really planning on going to the prom but he knew it would make Kaylee happy. Unfortunately, because of the accident, that was no longer a possibility.
The James Buchanan High School senior prom was held on a Saturday and Robert had every intention of taking Kaylee.
“I think that my husband is incredible. He is just a loving and giving human. He’s truly amazing, he is a gift,” said Kelly Brown, Carter’s mom and Robert’s wife. “I know that, Carter was in college, he wasn’t super excited about going to a high school prom, but he was excited about doing that for Kaylee … so Rob didn’t like the idea of Kaylee not getting that.”
After a little more than a week since Carter’s fatal accident, Robert called the school’s principal, Rod Benedick, seeking his approval to attend the prom.
Robert Brown, 50, asked Kaylee, 18, if he could be her date to the prom on May 19. What a sweet, thoughtful man.
“He said, ‘What if I went with you?’ I was like, ‘You’re too old,”’ Suders told TODAY in a joking way. “I was kind of surprised. It was all completely his idea, and I thought it was really sweet.”
And to think, this was a heartbroken father.
He still thought of making another person happy. A person who herself was heartbroken.
Robert and Kelly Brown also lost Carter’s older brother, Chris. He was 23 when he died of a drug overdose. The couple lost 2 of their 4 boys and yet here they were being selfless and thoughtful.
Kaylee had her hair and makeup done by friends. She and Robert had dinner first before enjoying the prom together, touching many of the students’ hearts.
It was a special evening, one with Carter smiling down on his sweet dad and his lovely girlfriend.