‘Can I Pray For You?’: Cop Stops Family For Speeding But a Viral Photo of What Happened Next Is Inspiring Thousands by Billy Hallowell for CBN News
A powerful scene unfolded earlier this year when a North Carolina trooper pulled a driver over for speeding and, rather than dole out a ticket, the cop compassionately prayed with a man battling cancer.
A photo of the encounter, which has gone viral, shows North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper Jaret Doty leaning into the car as both he and Anthony “Tony” Geddis, who had colon cancer, closed their eyes to pray in unison.
The touching interaction was captured by Ashlye V. Wilkerson, Geddis’ 39-year-old daughter, who was driving the car. The image spread across social media after Geddis died on May 22 and his daughter subsequently posted the photo and a tribute to her dad on social media.
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“It was a really beautiful moment for me to see this take place between my dad and the officer,” Wilkerson told CNN.
The Story Behind the Photo
Doty’s and Geddis’ paths collided on March 28, while Wilkerson was driving her father home to South Carolina after he received chemotherapy treatments at Duke University.
Wilkerson realized she was speeding when she saw the officer’s lights coming up behind her, so she pulled over and waited. Little did she know it would be anything but a routine stop.
“Ma’am, do you know what speed you were doing?” Doty said. “I’m going to need your license and registration.”
That’s when Geddis, exhausted from treatment and barely able to speak, quietly defended his daughter and told the cop she was driving him home from chemo.
Doty nodded and took Wilkerson’s license and registration back to his car, CNN reported.
And that’s when things turned quite interesting, as Doty was gone for a long time. The family wondered what was taking so long.
