A 1994 golf cart with the body of a 1957 Chevrolet at the Russo and Steele Auction was just the sort of thing the family of fallen Salt River police officer Clayton Townsend needed during this heartbreaking time.
The auction, in its third year at the Salt River Fields, auctioned off the golf cart from Rodger Comstock Thursday. According to a release, Comstock is a former police officer who wanted all of the proceeds to go to the Townsend family.
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Drew Alcazar, Russo and Steele Auction president and CEO, said what happened Thursday was "unprecedented.'
Officer Townsend beat cancer just a few years before he was killed on Jan. 8 during a routine traffic stop by a man who admitted to texting and driving. Because of cancer, he was never able to find an affordable life insurance policy.
His family, wife and an infant son, were left without that financial safety net, one that many families would have in a tragic situation like this.
Townsend's father-in-law set up a GoFundMe page to help. On Thursday, the family received even more help, $58,000 more.
“This was really an honor for us at Russo and Steele,” Alcazar said in a release. “We have been part of the Salt River Community for three years and Officer Townsend was a true hero."
According to a release from Russo and Steele, the auction for the golf cart closed at $30,000. The winner, however, re-donated it back to the auction. The golf cart sold for a second time for $28,000.
The auction raised $58,000 for the Townsend family in 20 minutes, a "world record donation" for Russo and Steele, a release read.
Salt River Police Department Chief Karl Auerbach, more than a dozen officers and Townsend's family were in attendance at the auction Thursday, according to a release.
Alcazar said the auction will waive all fees and commission and write the checks straight to the Townsend family.
“It was incredible to witness,” Alcazar said.