They thought its killing days were over.

They were wrong.

It all started on an otherwise gorgeous afternoon at a family reunion in California, this past Saturday. Kevin Wright, 55, of Suisun City, California was riding on the “front edge” of a vintage M-5 tank (circa 1944) when it started going downhill. He fell off, the tank continued, and crushed him to death.

Paramedics were immediately called to the scene after the incident, but it was too late. Wright was pronounced dead at the scene.

The tank’s operator was Vacaville native Dwaynen Brasher, 52.

More from CBS Sacramento:

Sunday, the Herman Rowland family released a statement about the incident.

“An invited guest at our family reunion tragically lost his life when he was involved in an off road vehicle accident on private property. Our family is grieving over this tragic loss. The gentleman involved in this accident was a passionate person, always ready to lend a hand and we shared the same deep rooted love of history. To have him die so tragically during our family reunion is impossible to comprehend.”

Rowland is the chairman of the board of the Jelly Belly company.