Reece Modzelewski suffered a head injury while in a babysitter's home in Saddle Brook.
SADDLE BROOK - An infant boy suffered a life-threatening head injury after apparently being dropped on the floor by a babysitter, authorities said Friday.
The 3-month-old was hurt about 3 p.m. Tuesday in a home on Midland Avenue in Saddle Brook, according to township Police Chief Robert Kugler.
Family friends have identified the baby as Reece Modzelewski, the only son of Mark Modzelewski, 32, and Nicole Nicastro, 34, of Carteret.
"A female family member babysitting the baby told officers the baby accidentally fell from her arms and hit the floor with his head," Kugler said in a statement.
"Our preliminary assessment was that the baby was accidentally dropped by (the) family member," Kugler said.
Police officers administered infant CPR and were soon joined by EMS. The baby was taken by police escort to Hackensack University Medical Center and placed on life support.
"My little baby boy is dying and there's nothing I can do to help or comfort him. I don't know if he can hear, see, taste or touch anymore," Mark Modzelewski wrote on Facebook Thursday.
"The fact that this happening so close to Christmas and right between both of our birthdays will only make it more difficult," he wrote. "A lot of people asked me what they can do to help and I told them to give their kids a hug and kiss."
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Family friend Benjamin DiFranco said the parents had made the decision to remove the child from life support.
"There isn't anything more the doctors can do," DiFranco wrote on a GoFundMe page. "Even if he wakes up he will have no quality of life; not being able to walk, talk or function on his own. This is the one of the hardest decisions anyone will ever have to make."
DiFranco's page raised nearly $15,000 by Friday morning.
Family friend Alissa Cabrera Farese created a separate GoFundMe page to raise money for a memorial for the baby.
"There is simply never a way to understand or to grasp a parent losing their child," Cabrera Farese wrote on the GoFundMe Page. "To imagine the sea of their grief and helplessness is impossible."
Nicole Nicastro is a pre-K teacher at James F. Murray Elementary School No. 38 in Jersey City. Mark Modzelewski is a wireless field technician at Ericsson telecommunications.
Police did not identify the babysitter, but said an investigation is underway.
"The matter has been, and may continue to be, jointly investigated by the Saddle Brook Police Department and Bergen County Prosecutor's Office," Kugler said.
Kugler said police are seeking further information about the incident and will review all medical records.
"This is a most tragic and heartbreaking incident and all we can do is pray for God's blessing for this precious little baby, his family and all who are affected by this unimaginable tragedy," the police chief said.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.