Community helps fulfill boy’s dying wish

When a young boy died recently from a rare bone disease, a community paid tribute to his life in the most incredible way: by having hundreds of trucks join his funeral procession.

Three-year-old Elijah Steffen, from Arizona, loved trucks and was going to use his Make-A-Wish to go to the Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas, ABC 15 reports.

But he never was able to make that trip, as he passed away on August 21 due to Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). The disease causes tumors and damages organs because too many white blood cells are being produced by the body.

His family made a request on Facebook that asked anyone with a truck to be part of the memorial service.

Initially, the family only asked for one truck to show. However, more than 200 trucks answered the call and escorted Steffen to his final resting place.

“That’s what a community does,” Sam Koster, who brought her truck, told ABC 15. “They all come together and that’s what the family needs.”

The fleet of trucks included military vehicles, fire engines and even monster trucks.

“I know he is in heaven with all his “monster jams” (what he called monster trucks) driving them all on the “hills” (jumps),” his mother, Roxanne, wrote on Facebook.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to “ease the burden” of medical expenses the family now faces from Steffen’s treatment.