STAFFORD – The living room was thick with grief as Gabriel Saldana’s family gathered in the days after his sudden death. His best friend Nate and Nate’s mom sat alongside them, just as shaken. Even the family’s German shepherd seemed unsettled, pacing as though searching for the boy who was always there.
“He’d be infuriated with us being so upset,” someone murmured, somewhat hoping Gabriel would walk through the door and insist they stop their sadness.
Gabriel was “Gabe” to all who loved his infectious smile, his quick wit, and his caring nature. Speaking of him in the past tense seemed more than a little surreal.
The 17-year-old Southern Regional High School senior died on September 30 when his pickup overturned on Route 72 in Stafford Township. Preliminary investigation suggests Gabe may have fallen asleep at the wheel. The crash was a second devastating blow for a family that had already endured the unimaginable – it came less than nine months after Gabriel’s mother, Lauren, was killed.
Gabe Didn’t Want Tragedy To Define Him
In January, 38-year-old Lauren Saldana of Freehold was found dead inside a South Brunswick home. Authorities later charged a man she had known, Roman Romanovskiy, with first-degree murder and child endangerment, saying the killing happened in front of her two younger children. Lauren had a restraining order against Romanovskiy at the time of her death.
By then, Gabriel was living with his grandparents, Laura and Dean Gulden, in Stafford. He began his freshman year at Southern Regional in 2021, seeking stability and peace after difficult years. His move ultimately spared him from witnessing his mother’s death, but not from the pain that followed.
His aunt, Kayla Dudley, said the tragedy left scars that Gabe carried quietly. “He was always the strongest human being,” she said. “He tried to be stronger for everyone else. There were times he broke down, but what stood out was how determined he was to break the cycle and build a better life.”
Pinned to his phone’s home screen was a message that read: “I’m allowed to want a better life.” To those who loved him, it summed up his spirit.
One of the ways Gabriel expressed his feelings was through music. His playlists were eclectic, spanning country, classical, Broadway musicals, Three Days Grace, and NBA YoungBoy, the rapper whose Newark concert he attended the night of the accident. Music, his family said, became his language.
“Sometimes my music will tell you more than what I’m saying,” he once confided. Kayla agreed: “He could describe any feeling with a song. He’d scroll through his phone and say, ‘This is what I mean.’”
Music was also something that connected Gabe to his 20-year-old sister, Maddie. The siblings knew every word of the Hamilton soundtrack from beginning to end. Even through their shared hurts, they always found a way to laugh together.
Maddie called Gabe her best friend. “He’s the only person who understood me,” she said. “We went through everything together – our stupid jokes, our struggles, our dreams. He understood it all.”
She remembered the day he dressed as the Grinch at her preschool job, growling and stomping in full costume until the children doubled over with laughter. “That was Gabe,” she said. “He loved making people laugh, no matter what.”
Maddie faced the unbearable task of telling their six-year-old brother that Gabe has joined their mother in heaven. The pain was something that Stafford Police Chief James Haldenwang couldn’t even imagine. “From everything I’ve heard, Gabriel was the closest thing that little boy had to a hero,” he said. “Now that hero is gone. It breaks your heart.”
Nate Curry, Gabe’s best friend, said their connection was instant. “I’d come here just to be bored with him,” Nate said. “So, I wasn’t bored by myself.”
But boredom never lasted with Gabe. “He had this way of making everything fun,” Nate said. “His smile brought everything to life. And he gave the best advice. He’d tell me, ‘Keep your head up and keep pushing.’”
A Hard Worker With Future Plans
Gabe’s work ethic stood out as much as his humor. He spent the past two summers living with Kayla’s family, working at Davis HVAC LLC. He discovered a passion for HVAC and dreamed of attending trade school after graduation. “He wanted to get certified, work under a mentor, and eventually open his own business,” Kayla said.
He also worked part-time at Chick-fil-A and delivered pizzas, saving enough to buy his truck on his own. As family members told his story to a reporter, his grandmother left the house for a brief moment and returned holding the black license plate frame salvaged from the wreck. She clutched it as if it were treasure, her voice breaking as she read the words across it: “Proof hard work pays off! I did it myself!”
“That was Gabe,” she said. “Everything he had, he earned.”
Laura also remembered how he carried the courtesy of his Chick-fil-A job into everyday life. “He’d open doors for me at home and say, ‘My pleasure,’” she said. “It became part of who he was.”
Even when he struggled with his own pain, Gabe gave freely of himself. Once, before he had his license, he offered $20 of his own money to pay someone for gas just so he could get a ride to a friend who was hurting. “That was Gabe,” Kayla said. “He always put others first.”
A Life Taken Too Soon
The night of the accident began with excitement. Gabe and Nate went to Newark for the NBA YoungBoy concert. His family worried about the long drive but eventually relented, watching his progress on an app and relieved when they saw him close to home.
After dropping Nate off safely in Ocean Acres, Gabe was spotted by a passerby asleep in his truck at a stoplight. He assured the stranger he was fine. Moments later, his pickup struck a utility pole and flipped.
The family saw his phone signal freeze near Nautilus Drive. Minutes later, police knocked on their door.
The news traveled quickly. Teachers at Southern Regional felt the grief along with their students. Gabe’s boss from Chick-fil-A called to offer support, as did a pastor from Bayside Chapel in Barnegat. Along Route 72, the roadside where his truck overturned became a memorial. Flowers, balloons, pumpkins, photographs, and handwritten notes now mark the place where his life ended.
Family and friends will have an opportunity to honor Gabriel’s memory during a memorial visitation on Sunday, October 12, 2025, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Maxwell-Tobie Funeral Home, 573 Mill Creek Road in Manahawkin.
The following day, a Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 11 a.m. on Monday, October 13, at St. Mary of the Pines Church, 100 Bishop Lane, Manahawkin. A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family: In Remembrance of Our Beautiful Gabriel.
Gabriel Saldana’s story ended far too soon, but in just seventeen years he left behind a legacy of resilience, kindness, humor, and love. His absence leaves an ache no words can heal, but his laughter, his music, and his unshakable spirit will live on in the memories of all who knew him.
