Berkeley Township, New Jersey — A New Jersey couple has lost their only two children in a devastating boating accident during a weekend outing with their grandparents at the Jersey Shore.

Sigmund and Jennifer Golabek’s daughter Mya, 9, and son Sigmund “Siggy,” 7, were killed Sunday night after the family’s 30-foot Tidewater Custom 280 struck a channel marker in Barnegat Bay off Berkeley Township. The impact ejected the children into the water.

The boat was operated by the children’s grandparents, Stephen Schneider, 63, and Laurie Schneider, 64, both of Bayville. New Jersey State Police responded around 9:09 p.m. to reports of the crash near Intercoastal Waterway Marker 39. The grandparents searched the water and found the children unresponsive. Both were later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Authorities are investigating the incident. It marks the second fatal boat crash involving a buoy on Barnegat Bay this year. Family members have described the siblings as sharing “a love that lasts forever.”

The Golabeks and the broader community are mourning the sudden loss of the two young children.

Sources:

• New York Post