The church community was organising dinners for the family to support them. The pastor said he had visited the family every day since James' death.
James enjoyed soccer and loved Lego. He was home-schooled and his father, Ben Crous, said his son was such a joy to them as parents.
The pastor said James' parents were heart-broken but within their faith they could see hope and peace.
He thanked the community for their kind messages and help during this time.
James was travelling in a car on State Highway 2B when it crashed into a stationary vehicle at the end of a queue of traffic. Cars were banked up waiting for roadworks on Pandora Bridge on the highway between Prebensen Rd roundabout and the Hawke's Bay Airport.
Police said the youngster was wearing a seatbelt. Candles, flowers and a teddy bear had since been placed at the crash site.
His mother and younger sister were taken to hospital after the crash and a hospital spokeswoman told Hawke's Bay Today they were discharged on Friday afternoon.
Three people, a mother and her two children, one aged 11 years and the other 11 months, who were in the SUV were released from hospital late on Thursday.
The Crous family moved to New Zealand from South Africa nine years ago and the congregation at their Taradale church, Basics 4 Life, was rallying around them during this difficult time.
A service to celebrate the life of James will be held at 3pm tomorrow at Napier Christian Fellowship in Taradale.
Since the fatal smash, a number of locals had raised concerns about lack of signage in the area warning motorists of the temporary 30km/h zone.
When contacted yesterday New Zealand Transport Agency had no further comment to make about the crash and a spokeswoman said central region highways manager Neil Walker's comments on Friday still stood.
Mr Walker told Hawke's Bay Today that apart from Thursday's fatal crash, there had been no reported crashes in the area since the roadworks started.
"We have not been made aware of any near misses, and the contractors on site have not raised any concerns," Mr Walker said.
He said NZTA took crashes in areas of roadworks sites very seriously and the agency's safety team would be reviewing the State Highway 2B site. He said the Police Serious Crash Unit was investigating and would provide findings into possible contributing factors once their investigation was complete.
Mr Walker said extra signage would be put in place to alert motorists to potential delays and give them the option to consider alternative routes.
