World War II era battle tank at the Patton Museum in California. (Rennett Stowe/Flickr)

The Jelly Belly chairman’s family reunion in California featured rides on a 1944 World War II armored vehicle with two tank-like treads. But the Saturday event ended with a fatal accident when one passenger fell off and was run over, police said.

“An invited guest at our family reunion tragically lost his life when he was involved in an off road vehicle accident on private property,” Jelly Belly chairman Herman Rowland said in a statement. “Our family is grieving over this tragic loss.”

Rowland collects vintage military vehicles and restores them in a facility on his Fairfield property called “The Tank Barn,” the Daily Republic reported. The M581 tractor’s owner gave Dwayne Brasher, 62, permission to drive the vehicle and give rides to guests, California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Parker said.

Brasher is the husband of Rowland’s daughter, Jelly Belly president and CEO Lisa Rowland Brasher, family spokeswoman Holly Carter said.

Kevin Wright, 54, died in the incident, authorities said. He was sitting backwards on the front of the vehicle and lost his balance as it traveled down a small hill, Parker said. “He fell off and right into the path of the vehicle,” Parker said. “The treads did not go over him. He was caught in the undercarriage of the vehicle.”

No charges are expected, Parker added.

Wright was “very passionate” about Rowland’s World War II vehicle collection, including the M581 tractor he was riding, Carter said.

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“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,” Rowland said in the statement. “To have him die so tragically during our family reunion is impossible to comprehend.”

The family said it was assisting authorities, and police said alcohol and drugs were not involved. About 50 people were at the event, Carter estimated.

“We are reaching out to the appropriate agencies to provide intensive counseling to everyone who witnessed and was affected by this tragedy,” Rowland said in the statement. “Many of my family members have been inconsolable since the accident. There are no words to describe the grief we are experiencing.”

Rowland’s interest in military vehicles and history has been well documented. He serves as chair for the Jimmy Doolittle Center, which counts Jelly Belly as a major donor. Rowland told the Record in January that he hoped his “American Freedom Military Vehicle Collection” would help attract visitors to the military museum.

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Rowland paid about $90,000 for an Abbot 105mm Self-Propelled Gun and spent an additional $150,000 on six other military vehicles during a 2014 auction, the Wall Street Journal reported. He told the paper he planned to offer rides to customers on his Fairfield property.

“It is an aspect of why we are free,” Rowland said of the vehicles in January, the Record reported. He added: “And it gives me a real thrill to nurture this equipment back to life.”