It's the story that gave shivers to anyone who has children. Something each and every one of us has done, take our kids out for a fun fall day, ended in senseless tragedy when something went terribly wrong on a fair ride. A 10 year old girl identified as Hailey McMullen was at the Deerfield Township Harvest Festival on Saturday night. In an accident that is still under investigation, she was thrown from a ride called Xtreme (many call it The Scrambler) and died from her injuries.

It turns out her grieving father is Chris McMullen, a Salem City police officer. The Salem County Police Officers Association is rallying around the family at this impossible time. They have set up an account where donations can be sent to cover the little girl's funeral costs and help out with other expenses.

I couldn't help but think how many family events Hailey's dad had to miss out on because of his job. A missed Christmas, a missed birthday, a missed game, all because he was sworn to keep everyone else's family safe. This story breaks my heart and just keeps getting sadder. If you're in a position to help, you can send a check made out to SPOA (or Salem Police Officers Association) and write Hailey McMullen on the memo line.

Checks can then be mailed to:

SPOA
P.O.Box 62
Salem, NJ 08079

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