A family outing to pick pumpkins ended in tragedy after a 2-year-old New Jersey boy was struck and killed by a reversing SUV in a farm parking lot.
James Gabriel was walking with his grandmother, Ellen Gabriel, 66, at Bullock Farms in Upper Freehold Township on Saturday morning when both were hit by a Chrysler SUV.
James’ parents, Robert and Meiling Gabriel, said the family had only just arrived at the farm when the accident happened.
The toddler was airlifted to Jersey Shore Medical Center, but he later died from his injuries.
“It was supposed to be a beautiful weekend,” Robert Gabriel said.
“It was not supposed to be the absolute devastation that it was.”
Robert said his son had been healthy, happy and excited for the day.
“We were going there to have a good day,” he said.
“Pumpkin picking and then coming back to my house and watching football.”
Robert said he was walking ahead with the couple’s six-month-old daughter, Evelyn, when the SUV struck James and Ellen behind him.
When he turned around, he said he could see his mother beneath the vehicle.
“She could have been easily killed. She’s lucky,” Robert said.
Ellen suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital, where she was still recovering.
The family has since launched an online fundraiser to help cover funeral and memorial expenses.
Meiling wrote that she and Robert had imagined an entire future for their son.
“As his parents, we had a lifetime of plans for James,” she wrote.
“Instead, we are now faced with something no parent should ever have to do: saying goodbye to our little boy.”
She described James as a cheerful and intelligent child who loved watching “Bluey” and spending time helping his father with errands.
“He was truly the light of our world,” she wrote.
Robert said the family’s life will never be the same.
“It’s never going to be the same without him,” he said.
The loss is especially painful because James had only recently become a big brother.
His younger sister Evelyn was born in May, on the same birthday as James.
Meiling said the family believed the siblings would have years together.
“We thought those four months were only the beginning of a lifetime they would share together,” she wrote.
“Now Evelyn will grow up knowing her big brother through our stories, photographs, videos, and memories.”
The fundraiser had collected more than $18,000 at the time of the report.
Bullock Farms and the nearby Screamin’ Hill brewery remained closed Sunday following the accident.
Upper Freehold Mayor Stanley Moslowski said the community was devastated by what happened, per the Daily Mail.
“We obviously never had anything like that happen in our town,” Moslowski said.
“You go out to have a happy day with young kids, and it turns into a tragedy.”
He added that counseling resources were being offered to workers at the farm.
Police are continuing to investigate the crash.
Authorities had not released the identity of the driver or announced whether any charges would be filed.
For the Gabriel family, what was supposed to be a simple fall outing instead became an unimaginable loss.
James was just 2 years old.
