PORT ALLEN – Five-year-old Xander Cruz Benoit was named an honorary deputy by the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office Friday.

Benoit died in a pileup on I-10 Tuesday and in an interview earlier in the week with WBRZ, his family said he'd dreamed of becoming a police officer. He said he wanted to be a hero and help people.

“That was in his heart,” his grandmother said in an emotional phone call about her grandson.

Video on a family Facebook page showed Xander playing with police cars and hanging out with his grandfather, a noted Cajun musician.

Benoit's dream touched the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office who posted on Facebook: “Sheriff Cazes would like to extend his deepest sympathies and condolences to the Benoit family at this time. Being a father and grandfather himself, as well as one of the first to respond to this horrible tragedy, it has touched him very deeply to know that this brave young man wanted so much to be a law enforcement officer. On this day, Sheriff Cazes has sworn in Xander C. Benoit as an Honorary Deputy Sheriff of the West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Department. Rest easy Deputy Benoit. Your watch is over, we'll take it from here.”

The driver who rear-ended a number of vehicles, leading to Benoit's death was booked into jail Friday.

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