On a balmy afternoon in late August, 5-year-old Maxwell Haworth was playing on Rincon Beach in Ventura with his best friend while his parents watched from the sand.
The picture-perfect day quickly became a “nightmare,” according to the family. As young Maxwell climbed on rocks on the edge of the beach, he slipped, causing a boulder to fall on top of him, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said.
The young boy was severely injured in the accident, and died later that day at a local hospital, according to close family member Daniel Kessler.
“His father picked him up and went up to the parking lot with him in his arms to get some help,” Kessler said. “They did everything they could.”
The heartbreaking accident that took the young boy’s life has apparently touched the hearts of hundreds of people from as far away as Chicago and Atlanta who donated more than $65,000 in less than 10 days.
“He was always a joyful, energetic 5-year-old and always having fun, loved everybody. He had just actually started kindergarten a couple of weeks ago,” Kessler said. “The family’s just heartbroken that they’re not going to see him grow up.”
After the tragic loss, family friend Bryan Holloway organized a GoFundMe account for funeral costs and support.
“My friends are not ones to ask for anything from anyone, but we know they need any support they can get,” Holloway wrote on the page.
As the only child to his parents, Max was their “biggest joy in life and a blessing they couldn’t have wanted more,” Holloway said.
The online fundraising page is adorned with photos of the cherub-face boy and his parents. In less than a week, the GoFundMe reached nearly $50,000, with donations pouring in ranging from $10 to $2,500.
As of Friday afternoon, it reached $65,000 from nearly 650 contributors, closing in on its $80,000 goal.
“The outpouring of support has been tremendous, we feel so blessed and his parents feel so blessed and can’t thank people enough for donating and sharing their love,” Kessler said. “They feel overjoyed that their son has touched so many people.”
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