Eric Stonestreet just boosted Kansas Trooper Ben's Twitter with a giving twist
How much you want to bet that Trooper Ben didn't get much sleep Monday night unless he switched off his Twitter notifications?
Trooper Ben — aka Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner, @TrooperBenKHP — has been scooping up new Twitter followers by the droves ever since "Modern Family" star and KCK native Eric Stonestreet put the trooper's Twitter account on blast Monday afternoon.
It all started when Gardner tweeted on Monday that he was trying to reach 40,000 Twitter followers.
Along comes Stonestreet for the assist.
"I will donate $1 for every follower @TrooperBenKHP gets in the next 24hours to @safeks." Stonestreet tweeted. "(fine print: not exceeding 10 thousand bucks)#BuckleUp"
SAFE is a teen-run program that works to get teenagers to wear seat belts.
Like Gardner, the SAFE folks have been blown away by Stonestreet's support.
"Still can't believe this is happening! Thanks @ericstonestreet & @TrooperBenKHP!, the group tweeted on Tuesday morning.
When Stonestreet's offer went into effect on Monday, Gardner had 39,800 followers.
As of Tuesday morning, he had more than 48,000.
This isn't the first time Gardner's Twitter account has made headlines. Last year Gardner was named the winner of the Best International Account by Police Twitter Awards, a contest based in the United Kingdom.
He also went viral last month with his video message about how to use an acceleration lane.
Gardner is clearly overwhelmed by this new attention.
He posted a video Monday night thanking Stonestreet for his generosity.
"I can't stop smiling. Eric Stonestreet, what are you doing to me? My goodness," Gardner said. "My Twitter page is going crazy ...
"I don't know what to say. I'm a little bit fan-girl, holy-moly. This is a little weird. I didn't expect this. you put my Twitter account on blast, unexpectedly, but I thank you for that. Reminding you all to buckle up, I say that all the time. It makes a difference."
In this heady moment the media are apparently hounding Gardner for an interview.
But duty calls.
"To all the media asking if I can be interviewed tomorrow," he tweeted Monday. "I've got a commitment installing a childseat for new parents in Salina tomorrow. My first priority is with them."
And for some people who didn't understand the hubbub, Trooper Ben had a response.
This story was originally published March 6, 2018 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Eric Stonestreet just boosted Kansas Trooper Ben's Twitter with a giving twist."