UPDATE: One Dead, Several Injured in Alstede Farms Car Crash, Prosecutor Says

A 2-year-old girl was killed and two more were injured Sunday in a car crash that took place just as tourists were enjoying fall harvest activities at Alstede Farms in Chester Township.

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

Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said multiple people were injured and one fatality was confirmed at the farm, an attraction that has been criticized for encouraging traffic to clog up local roads in an area known for its idyllic scenery.

The manner of the car crash, age of deceased, or any other information regarding the tragic incident was not released Sunday. An ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Chester Township Police Department and Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.

At least one helicopter was needed at the scene along with ambulances from multiple surrounding towns. Eyewitnesses said a young child was given CPR; traffic in the area was backed up for miles in both directions while the scene was investigated.

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.

The battle between local residents, visitors, and rural roadways came to a head on Columbus Day weekend in 2013, as Rt. 513 in Chester Township and Borough was clogged during the mid-day rush for hours. One resident used Patch to express her dissatisfaction and ire after a traffic jam slowed her entire day.

“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.”

When the group organized in 2013, it was because they felt the congestion and sheer volume of visitors had grown too much, to the point where leaving their own street had become dangerous.

One of Elby’s neighbors, Andrew O’Connor, said he spoke with Kurt Alstede on many occasions.

“He continues to discuss the upside that his business brings to the town and surrounding businesses,” O’Connor said. “But he’s unwilling to address the downside it brings. I’m afraid to let my two children play in our driveway because there are so many people coming up our road and turning around.”

Citing the Right to Farm Act, which allows New Jersey farmers who generate at least $10,000 in revenue annually to use their land as they please, Chester Township Mayor Bill Cogger said the municipality’s hands are tied.

“[Alstede] has spent a lot of money trying to make the traffic coming from each direction better for this season,” Cogger said at the scene Sunday night. “But under the Right to Farm Act he’s allowed to use his land for the purposes of farming and attractions.”

Kurt Alstede did not immediately return calls for comment.

Columbus Day weekend is widely known in the area as the busiest and most heavily traveled between Chester, Chester Township, and Long Valley’s pick-your-own farms, bringing thousands of out-of-towners to western Morris County.

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.

Photo Credit: Chelsea Holloway

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