James Gabriel, 2, died after a reversing Chrysler SUV struck him and his grandmother in the parking lot of Bullock Farms in Upper Freehold Township, New Jersey, on Saturday morning.

The family had just arrived for pumpkin picking when the vehicle hit James and Ellen Gabriel, 66, as they walked together. James was airlifted to Jersey Shore Medical Center and later died of his injuries. Ellen suffered minor injuries and remains in recovery.

Robert Gabriel, the boy's father, walked ahead with six-month-old daughter Evelyn and could not see the driver. He turned and saw his mother's head visible beneath the car. Police are investigating the incident but have not revealed the driver's details or said whether any charges will follow.

A family outing ends in sudden loss

Robert told reporters the family planned a simple day of pumpkin picking followed by football at home. He described the shock that replaced those plans.

Robert Gabriel said: "It was supposed to be a beautiful weekend."

"It was not supposed to be the absolute devastation that it was."

He added that his son "was as healthy as could be. He was as happy as could be. We were going there to have a good day." The outing was meant to include "pumpkin picking and then coming back to my house and watching football."

The New York Post reported the strike occurred around 11 a.m. and that James died of blunt force trauma. State Police continue the probe with no charges announced.

Robert noted Ellen's narrow escape: "She could have been easily killed. She's lucky." He later said of his son, "It's never going to be the same without him."

Parents describe the boy they lost

Meiling Gabriel, James's mother, spoke of plans cut short and the permanent hole left for the family, including baby sister Evelyn, born this May and sharing the same birthday as her brother.

Meiling said: "As his parents, we had a lifetime of plans for James."

"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 bubbly "smart boy" who loved watching the cartoon Bluey, helped his dad with errands, and was "truly the light of our world." On the siblings she added: "We thought those four months were only the beginning of a lifetime they would share together." Now Evelyn "will grow up knowing her big brother through our stories, photographs, videos, and memories."

Sudden child losses in family settings have left other households shattered as well, including a case where a former America's Got Talent contestant faced murder charges after a four-year-old nephew drowned.

The Gabriel family launched an online fundraising campaign for funeral and memorial costs. It has raised $18,144 so far.

Town leaders and farm respond

Upper Freehold Mayor Stanley Moslowski said the community is heartbroken. Farm workers were offered counseling resources.

Moslowski stated: "We obviously never had anything like that happen in our town."

"You go out to have a happy day with young kids, and it turns into a tragedy."

Bullock Farms and the adjacent Screamin' Hill brewery remained closed on Sunday, according to the farm's Facebook page. A Daily Mail report laid out the same sequence of the parking-lot strike and the family's public grief.

Other abrupt outing disasters have claimed multiple lives in recent coverage, such as the Wrightwood ejection crash that left four dead.

Authorities have not publicly confirmed the precise path of the reversing Chrysler SUV inside the lot or the full medical details of James's fatal injuries. Investigators will need to determine how the vehicle came into contact with the pedestrians and what evidence supports any charging decision.

Investigation remains open

No suspect name, motive statement, or arrest has been released. Police have not said whether the driver faces charges. Ellen Gabriel continues recovering from her minor injuries at an undisclosed hospital.

Legal questions around child deaths in family care settings often turn on accountability after the fact, as when a Bronx judge ruled a mother not guilty by reason of insanity in the deaths of two children.

James's parents have emphasized the ordinary joy of the planned day and the permanent absence that followed. Robert stressed the boy had been healthy and happy only moments before the impact.

Tragedies that leave young children dead continue to draw public attention across jurisdictions, including an Erie shooting and home standoff that killed nine people with two children among the dead.

The farm parking lot remains the focus of the active police inquiry. No public results have been released about the driver's statement or any vehicle data recovered at the scene.

Incidents placing children near sudden danger also surface in charging decisions elsewhere, as when an Oakland rapper was held without bail after allegedly firing toward a family with children nearby.

For now the Gabriel family mourns a son described as the light of their world while authorities complete the basic fact-finding required in any fatal pedestrian strike.

When a routine family stop ends with a child dead and no answers yet on the driver, the public is right to demand a full, transparent investigation that puts accountability first.