Newlywed mother of two sons dies in crash while picking up family for Thanksgiving dinner

MADISON, Ala. (WAFF/Gray News) - Family members in Alabama are remembering a newlywed mother who was killed in a tragic crash on Thanksgiving Day.

Authorities say a multi-vehicle collision on Interstate 65 in Limestone County took the life of 36-year-old Andrea Lemoncelli.

Her husband, Vincent Lemoncelli, said she was with his stepmother at the time of the crash and they were driving his car to pick up family for Thanksgiving dinner.

Sadly, he then got an alert from his wife’s phone that they were in a serious crash.

Vincent Lemoncelli said he frantically tried calling her before tracking her phone to a junkyard where the car ended up. That’s when state troopers broke the news to him.

“‘Please tell me my baby is OK,’” Vincent Lemoncelli said he asked troopers. “He said, ‘I’m sorry. She didn’t make it.’ ”And I just totally collapsed. It was awful.”

Vincent and Andrea Lemoncelli were newlyweds, having just tied the knot in August. He said they’d had their ups and downs, but she was his rock and his entire world.

“She tried to be very uplifting to anybody she came in contact with, and she tried to put a smile on anybody’s face,” he said. “I just want to let her know I loved her.”

Along with Andrea Lemoncelli came her two teenage sons, Jayden and Jonathan, and Vincent Lemoncelli says he’s glad he didn’t let them go on that Thanksgiving ride.

“The whole rear-end of the car is in the back seat. It would’ve totally crushed the kids to pieces,” he said. “I’ve had to stay as strong as I can for these boys because I’m all they got now.”

Vincent Lemoncelli and many members of their church, Pure Faith Apostolic in Cullman, are continually mourning. But they say God has an incredibly generous and caring spirit.

“When you look out there, you would see her smile. She was always smiling and ready to worship the Lord,” Daphne Tidmore, a congregation member and family friend, said. “She will definitely be missed. She was so kind; she would do anything for anybody.”

Vincent Lemoncelli added, “If it wasn’t for my church family and Andrea’s church family, I don’t know what we would do. We’re just trying to stay as strong as we can for each other and hold each other up.”

He said the crash left them in a major financial hole. They used money from a GoFundMe to pay for the funeral, but they needed to set up a second GoFundMe fundraiser because he isn’t sure how he’ll be able to afford another car, doctor’s expenses or even giving the kids a good Christmas.

Vincent Lemoncelli’s stepmother was driving the car that day and was seriously injured in the crash. Thankfully, he says she left the hospital and has since returned home.

Authorities said the cause of the crash is still under investigation.