A child was killed and a 66-year-old woman from Roselle Park was seriously injured Saturday after an SUV backed into them in the parking lot of a popular farm brewery in Upper Freehold Township. The crash happened shortly after 11:07 a.m. on October 3 at Screamin' Hill Brewery on Bullock Farms, located at 83 Emleys Hill Road, forcing the business to shut down through Sunday.
According to MetroLaw.com, the child and the woman, identified by New Jersey State Police as Ellen Gabriel, were on foot when a driver in a Chrysler SUV was reversing out of a parking space and struck them both, per initial reports. Gabriel was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, while the child died from injuries sustained in the crash. As reported by Patch, state police withheld the child's name, age, and gender, though initial emergency dispatch reports indicated the child was approximately two to three years old. Screamin' Hill Brewery posted on social media that it was closing for the weekend due to an emergency in its parking lot, the outlet noted.
A Working Farm Turned Fall Destination
Screamin' Hill Brewery sits on the 175-acre Bullock Farms, which has been owned and operated by the same family since 1860 and is recognized in historic preservation records as New Jersey's first farm brewery, according to ArcGIS StoryMaps. The preserved property features pick-your-own pumpkin patches and fall harvest events alongside its taproom, drawing heavy crowds this time of year. That kind of seasonal draw matters here: rural municipalities in western Monmouth County see surges in vehicular and foot traffic during autumn harvest festivities, often funneling visitors into informal, unpaved parking areas not designed for heavy weekend crowds.
New Jersey State Police reported the collision details, and the investigation remains active, per the agency's account relayed by Patch. The specifics of what happened in the moments before impact, including the driver's identity, have not been made public.
What New Jersey Law Says About Backing Crashes
Under New Jersey Annotated Statute 39:4-127, drivers are prohibited from backing a vehicle if doing so interferes with other vehicles or traffic safety, a violation that typically carries an $85 fine and two points on a driver's record. That statute applies primarily to public roads, but law enforcement officers examine physical interference and right-of-way when investigating backing collisions on private lots like the brewery's, per New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission traffic law guidance. The distinction matters for how this case is handled: research from the Governors Highway Safety Association notes that federal crash databases track collisions on public roadways, while off-road wrecks on private commercial or farm property rely primarily on state and local police investigations rather than federal tracking systems.
It remains unknown whether the Chrysler SUV involved was equipped with a functional backup camera. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 111, enforced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has required all new light vehicles under 10,000 pounds sold in the U.S. after May 1, 2018, to include rearview cameras covering a 10-foot by 20-foot field of view behind the vehicle. Congress mandated the rule under the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act specifically to prevent backover fatalities involving young children.
A Familiar and Preventable Danger
The tragedy fits a pattern federal safety researchers have documented for years. NHTSA data estimates that vehicle backing accidents cause roughly 210 fatalities and more than 15,000 injuries annually nationwide, with children under five accounting for nearly a third of all backover deaths. Larger passenger vehicles such as SUVs carry bigger rear blind zones that elevate the risk, according to research compiled by Lieff Cabraser.
The crash adds to a grim tally across the state this year. New Jersey State Police crash tracking data recorded 382 fatal vehicle collisions resulting in 397 total fatalities statewide through October 3, the same day of this crash. Still, the broader trend has been improving: the New Jersey Attorney General's Office reported that statewide pedestrian fatalities dropped nearly 24 percent in 2025, falling to 175 deaths from 230 the year before, while overall traffic fatalities fell 15 percent to 582.
Monmouth County, where Upper Freehold Township sits, has recorded more than 16,500 total motor vehicle collisions in recent state crash data, placing it among the top five highest-collision counties in New Jersey, as Hoodline previously reported following a separate fatal Monmouth County crash in Tinton Falls last month.
What Comes Next for the Family
Under New Jersey's Wrongful Death Act, a child's wrongful-death claim must be brought by the personal representative of the child's estate, typically a parent appointed as administrator, who then files on behalf of eligible family members, usually the parents. The law allows recovery for financial losses, including the value of services the child would have provided, loss of companionship and guidance, and reasonable funeral and medical bills, but it generally does not compensate for grief and emotional distress, according to MetroLaw.com. A separate survival action can allow the estate to seek damages for the child's pre-death pain and suffering.
New Jersey wrongful-death claims must generally be filed within two years of the date of death, and if a public entity may share responsibility, the state's Tort Claims Act generally requires written notice within 90 days. Medical records and witness accounts are considered crucial evidence for building such a claim, and documentation becomes harder to gather over time, the site notes. MetroLaw.com said it has not independently verified the accident-report information in its account of the crash.
