Just over two months ago, East Longmeadow resident and stay-at-home mom Jessica Mann welcomed her second child with her husband, Angelo Fabozzi. Then, last week, Fabozzi was struck by a mail truck at a gas station and seriously injured, rendering the family’s breadwinner unable to work.
Robert O’Sullivan, 54, was drunk when he struck Fabozzi, 30, with a U.S. Postal Service mail truck at the Pride gas station in East Longmeadow the morning of Aug. 26, authorities say. O’Sullivan was charged in the crash and pleaded not guilty to one count of operating under the influence of alcohol while causing serious bodily injury and leaving the scene of a crash causing personal injury during his arraignment in Palmer District Court last week.
On the morning of the crash, Mann left her home approximately 25 minutes after Fabozzi to take her newborn and 3-year-old to a playdate at her sister-in-law’s, she said. She passed the scene of the crash on the way and texted her husband about it, unaware of what had happened to him minutes prior.
Mann started to sense that something was wrong as the minutes passed and Fabozzi — who always picks up her calls — did not call her back or read her texts, she said. After a few more missed calls, she checked his precise location and immediately panicked — her husband was at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.
Mann raced to the hospital and found her husband asleep but in poor physical condition.
“He had one of those full neck support things on, and he had blood everywhere — his hair, on his head, on the blankets,” she said.
At first, the doctors were afraid Fabozzi had a spinal injury, Mann said. After further examination, they determined his spine was intact, but that he had a minor brain bleed.
Though Fabozzi’s prognosis was good, his injuries caused him a lot of pain, Mann said. He left the hospital with 15 staples in his head and still spends most of the day asleep, as most activities cause him to become dizzy.
“They just said it’s gonna be a long recovery,” she said.
- Read more: Police: Driver of mail truck struck pedestrian in East Longmeadow before crashing into bank
Fabozzi is expected to be unable to work for some time yet, though it’s unclear how long, Mann said. He has to be cleared to drive and pass eye and ear tests before he can return to his job as a mechanic.
Having to take care of her injured husband and losing the family’s main source of income has caused a lot of stress for Mann, on top of the stress of taking care of a newborn.
“I have to be there for everybody,” she said. “So I’m basically running on a lot of caffeine and adrenaline and two hours of sleep on average a night.”
Thankfully, Mann’s family and friends have been generous with their time and money, she said. The Fabozzi-Mann family now has plenty of food to go around, but they’re still in need of many essentials, such as diapers and cleaning supplies.
Those looking for ways to support the family are asked to purchase items from Mann’s Amazon wishlist or donate through a fundraiser website that includes a link to her Venmo account.
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