LEMON GROVE, Calif. (KGTV) - A Lemon Grove family is reeling from an unthinkable tragedy after their infant son and his grandfather were killed during a trip to New Jersey.
“Micah just loved being in people's arms. He was the happiest baby, so giggly,” said Ben Canales.
6-month-old Micah Gasin, and parents Alex and Amber had been in Verona, N.J., for two weeks, when the couple headed out to an evening Mets game two Mondays ago, leaving Micah at his grandparents' home.
“Micah was supposed to eat his cucumbers and have his last bottle and start to head to bed that evening, and grandpa wanted to show him cucumbers in the garden … they took some time in the hammock together,” said Canales, Micah’s godfather.
Canales said that is when tragedy struck in the form of a falling tree in the backyard. Police say the uprooted tree landed on the two, killing Micah and his 61-year-old grandfather, Boris.
It's unclear if weather played a role, but three storms passed through the town that night.
Micah's parents got a call from first responders, racing back to the house and a wrenching reality.
“Just devastation and also utter shock,” said Canales.
Hours later, Canales received a call from Amber.
“She just was holding a pacifier in her hand and telling me how she just wants her baby boy back,” said Canales.
More than a week later, the couple, now back in Lemon Grove, are grieving their only child.
“They're trying to make sense of it … just a big why. Why, how does this happen?” Canales said. “These are two parents with their whole lives ahead off them with their baby boy… In an instant, it was taken away… It will be a lifetime of remembering Micah. We will never forget Micah.”
A GoFundMe campaign has been started to help the family with funeral and other expenses.
According to the National Weather Service, which doesn't keep statistics related to tree-related deaths, about 58 people are killed every year by high winds.
