Robert and Meiling Gabriel had planned to spend the day picking pumpkins with their children before returning home to watch football. Instead, their visit to a New Jersey farm ended with the death of their 2-year-old son, James.
James and his grandmother, Ellen Gabriel, 66, were struck by a reversing Chrysler SUV in the parking lot of Bullock Farms in Upper Freehold Township on Saturday morning.
James was airlifted to Jersey Shore Medical Center, where he died from his injuries. His grandmother survived and was hospitalized.
Speaking to NJ.com, his parents said the family had only just arrived at the farm.
“It was supposed to be a beautiful weekend,” Robert said. “It was not supposed to be the absolute devastation that it was.”
A father recalls the moments after the collision
Robert had been walking ahead with his baby daughter, Evelyn, and said he did not see the driver. When he turned around, he could see his mother’s head beneath the vehicle.
“She could have been easily killed. She’s lucky,” he said.
Ellen sustained injuries described as minor and remained in the hospital recovering.
Robert remembered James as a healthy, happy child who had come to the farm with his family for an enjoyable day together.
“It’s never going to be the same without him,” he said.
Remembering the boy behind the loss
In an online fundraising appeal for funeral and memorial expenses, Meiling described James as bubbly and smart. He loved watching Bluey and joining his father on errands.
She called him “truly the light of our world.”
“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.”
James and his younger sister, Evelyn, shared a birthday, something their parents had expected to celebrate together for years to come.
Evelyn was born in May. Meiling said the months her children had spent together were supposed to be the beginning of a lifelong relationship.
“Now Evelyn will grow up knowing her big brother through our stories, photographs, videos, and memories,” she wrote.
The family’s fundraising campaign had received $18,144 at the time of the report.
Investigation continues as the community responds
Police are investigating the collision. Details about the driver have not been released, and authorities have not announced whether charges will be filed.
Bullock Farms and the neighboring Screamin’ Hill brewery remained closed on Sunday, according to the farm’s Facebook page.
Upper Freehold Mayor Stanley Moslowski said the community was heartbroken and that farm workers had been offered counseling resources.
“You go out to have a happy day with young kids, and it turns into a tragedy,” he said.
While investigators examine what happened, James’s parents are preparing to say goodbye to their son and preserve his memory for his little sister.
