UPDATE: Girl, 2, Died In Tragic Alstede Farm Crash While 'Enjoying The Day;' 2 Adults Injured

The motor vehicle crash at Alstede Farms in Chester Township on Sunday claimed the life of a 2-year-old girl, according to authorities and the girl’s family.

In a joint statement released Monday morning, Prosecutor Fredric Knapp and Chester Township Police Chief Wayne Martini disclosed the person killed was a child and that two adults were injured in the crash during the busy fall-harvest season.

Alstede Farms has long been a source of tension with some people in the area who say it causes traffic jams and dangerous road conditions.

A GoFundMe page was created to help the family with funeral costs for their daughter, Elizabeth “Ella” Fuehring, the victim of the crash.

Elizabeth’s father, family and friends spoke about the loss and provided information on fundraising here.

On the fund-raising page, family members wrote:

“Elizabeth was taken from us far sooner than she should have been. At just 2 1/2 years old Ella was enjoying a day out at the farm when tragedy struck and she was hit by a shuttle bus along with her mother and a few friends. She passed instantly & her mother Sarah Fuehring was rushed into surgery with a broken femur.

At 4:37 p.m. Sunday afternoon police were dispatched to Alstede Farms for a report of a motor vehicle crash with injuries. Multiple ambulances from surrounding jurisdictions were needed for aid at the scene as well as a medical helicopter, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.

While two other adults were injured as a result of the crash, the prosecutor’s office would not disclose the relationship between them and the deceased child.

The manner of the car crash, age of deceased, or any other information regarding the tragic incident was not yet released.

Farm owner Kurt Alstede, whose business has been criticized for encouraging traffic congestion within Morris County’s idyllic landscape, released a statement Monday morning, sending his and his family’s condolences to the victims.

“The Alstede family and staff grieve and mourn for the families impacted by the motor vehicle accident that occurred on Sunday, October 12, 2014,” the statement read. “Our sincere prayers and heartfelt thoughts are extended to everyone involved.”

The statement went on to explain that no further comments would be made as the accident is still under investigation.

Witnesses at the scene Sunday said they saw a child receiving CPR after the crash.

As of 8 p.m. employees of Alstede Farms were closing up shop while news vans and media outlets conducted interviews across the street.

Those residents included Tami Elby, Jennifer Otten, and Andrew O’Connor, who formed a group in 2013 to work with both the farm owner, Kurt Alstede, and officials from Chester Township to help alleviate traffic and congestion in the area.

“This is very sad, but I’m not surprised,” said Elby, who has lived in the development directly across the street from the farm for the last seven years. “We got together last year and tried working with the town to avoid things like this from happening.”

See All of Patch’s Coverage of the Alstede Farm Tragedy:

• UPDATE: One Dead, Several Injured in Alstede Farms Car Crash, Prosecutor Says
• UPDATE: Girl, 2, Died In Tragic Alstede Farm Crash While ‘Enjoying The Day;’ 2 Adults Injured
• Father of Toddler Killed at Alstede Farms: ‘I Lost a Piece of Me’
• Readers React, Lash Out at Farmer After Toddler Killed By Shuttle Bus
• Sadness, But No Surprise in Wake of Fatal Crash at Alstede’s

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