5-year-old boy dies in rollover accident on the way back from a church conference with grandparents

SAN ANTONIO (Gray News) – The family of a 5-year-old Texas boy is mourning his death in a car crash that occurred just weeks before he was due to start kindergarten. He will be remembered as a “beacon of joy and love.”

Zachary Reyna, 5, his older brother and their grandparents were returning from a church convention in Mexico on Aug. 4 when they were involved in a rollover accident involving a semi-trailer truck. The 5-year-old was killed and his grandparents were both hospitalized, with his grandmother suffering life-threatening injuries, according to a GoFundMe campaign set up for the family.

Family and friends say Zachary's mother, Julie Navarro Reyna, is struggling with his death, describing it on a separate GoFundMe page as “a mother's unbearable pain.” Adding to the grief, getting the little boy's body home to San Antonio has been complicated, KENS reports.

“She's just devastated,” said Jennifer Navarro, Zachary's aunt. “It's hard to hear her voice because you can just hear how hurt she is. As a mother, knowing that it's her son, you just can't imagine something like this.”

According to the GoFundMe, Zachary will be remembered by his family as a “beacon of joy and love” who had an “infectious smile and boundless energy.” In the weeks following the accident, he was scheduled to start kindergarten at Collier Elementary.

“He was excited, like all kids are. He was happy and wanted to follow his brothers around and do what they do,” Navarro told KENS.

Zachary's funeral was held Wednesday. He was buried in the “Babyland” section of Mission Burial Park South in San Antonio, Reyna's boss Lupe Camacho said in an interview with WOAI.

“We find peace and believe that Zachary is now with our Lord. Zachary will be cherished in each of our lives with so much love and light,” Camacho wrote on GoFundMe.

Zachary's grandmother is still hospitalized in Mexico, KENS reports. His brother, who friends and family say is physically fine, is recovering from the tragedy at home.

Copyright 2024 Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.