Kevin Will was killed in the line of duty, but his fellow officers made sure his son started kindergarten with the right support

The son of a Houston Police Department officer who died in the line of duty received a special escort on his first day of kindergarten.

Nearly 100 officers from various law enforcement agencies escorted 5-year-old Kevin Will, Jr., to his first day of class at Wildwood Elementary in Tomball, just northeast of Houston.

The escort party included more than a dozen officers on horseback, as well as a helicopter hovering overhead.

Officer Kevin Will, Sr., died on May 29, 2011, at the scene of a hit-and-run accident.

While Will and other officers were setting up barricades for accident investigators, the driver of a Volkswagen Beetle plowed through the barrier at over 80 mph.

Will warned a civilian to get out of the way before he was struck and killed.

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An investigation into the accident revealed the driver who struck Will was behind the wheel with a blood alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit.

At trial, the driver, Johoan Rodriguez, plead guilty to intoxicated manslaughter of a peace officer and was sentenced to 55 years in prison.

Rodriguez, an undocumented immigrant who was previously deported twice, will serve at least 27 years of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

After studying engineering at Texas Tech University and a earning a successful career in finance, Officer Will joined HPD in 2009.

According to Sgt. Don Egdorf, who met Will during his officer training classes, the newly-minted officer was highly professional, meticulous in his duties and strong in his personal faith.

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Officers from as far away as Fort Worth, Odessa, and McAllen joined the three-quarter-mile procession from the Will house to the school.

In an interview with a local TV station, Mrs. Will said the the presence of these and other officers has helped her and her family deal with the loss:

“He knows (the officers) will always be there.”

It was our honor to walk Kevin Will to school today. His father was killed in 2011 @houstonpolice#firstdayofschool #GoneButNotForgotten pic.twitter.com/pMUVsefznK

— Fort Worth Police (@fortworthpd) August 22, 2017