HOLBROOK, MASS. (WHDH) - The close-knit family of a 20-year-old Stoughton woman who was killed over the weekend when the car she was riding in went airborne and smashed into the roof of a home in Holbrook is mourning her tragic death as they struggle to come to grips with the horrifying crash.
“To know that it was out of everyone’s control, that we couldn’t protect her like we always thought we could is just so hard for us to understand,” said Alesandra Paluzzi, one of Nicole Ricci’s 15 cousins.
Ricci was riding as a passenger in her own car when it crossed the center line on Route 139, hit a utility pole, went through a fence and slammed into the roof of a home in the area of Abington Avenue and Kingsley Street about 4:30 a.m., officials said.
At a vigil Monday night, Ricci’s mother, Sharon McInnis, said she found comfort in all those who came together following the tragic crash.
“She was a good, good girl, an average teenager, just loved her cousins, loved her family,” McInnis said. “I loved her.”
“Even when she had her own things going on she was there for her friends. She always made sure that we were good,” said Ricci’s friend, Adely Depina
Ricci’s uncle, George Paluzzi, described his niece as one of the kindest people he knew.
“She was very funny, very kind, and very sweet,” he said. “If you took her for the day you would be like, ‘I’m sorry. You’re not getting her back.'”
Family members said Ricci was riding with her boyfriend and another friend at the time of the crash. Both victims, whose names were not made public, are hospitalized with serious injuries.
George Paluzzi said it’s going to be hard for his family to overcome the grief that they are dealing with.
“To lose her. To lose any one of these kids. It’s going to affect us for a long time,” he said.
The home that was hit sustained significant structural damage but no injuries were reported.
An investigation is ongoing but police said they believe speed was a factor in the crash.
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