NEED TO KNOW
-
Nurse practitioner Maria Camela Lazo-Hannecart died when a tree fell on her car while she was driving to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia to get to work on Oct. 30
-
Her husband, Pierre Hannecart, recalled having to inform their three kids — ages 3, 7 and 9 — that their mom was dead
-
“I put them next to each other. I told them, ‘What I’m going to tell you is going to change your life forever.’ They all cried at the same time, and we all hugged each other,” he said
A family in Philadelphia is mourning the loss of a wife and mom of three after her car was struck by a tree that fell as she was driving to work.
Maria Camela Lazo-Hannecart, a 44-year-old nurse practitioner, was driving to work at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center on Oct. 30 when the freak accident happened, according to 6ABC.
Police said that Lazo-Hannecart — known by her friends, family and co-workers as Ella — was driving along the city’s West School House Lane when a large tree fell onto her car, killing her instantly.
Police delivered the news to her husband, Pierre Hannecart, that day.
“He goes, ‘Well, I have something to tell you that’s going to harm you,’ ” the grieving husband recalled to the outlet. “Then he told me this tragedy, this awful story about the tree that fell on the car … I couldn’t believe it.”
Jacob F. Ruth Funeral Directors
Maria Camela Lazo-Hannecart.
According to her obituary, Lazo-Hannecart was born in Manila, Philippines, and moved to Philadelphia with her family at 10 years old.
She was passionate about athletics as a tennis player, and she spent time volunteering in the Congo, Senegal and Haiti during an Ebola outbreak. There, she worked with Doctors Without Borders — where she met her husband, who is originally from France.
“She grabbed my hand on the back and she held it ever since — until last Wednesday,” he said of his late wife.
Lazo-Hannecart and her husband tied the knot in a civil ceremony in 2015, before marrying in a church in 2023, according to the obituary. They share three children, ages 3, 7 and 9.
Hannecart told 6ABC that he had to tell his kids what had happened just hours after her death.
“I put them next to each other. I told them, ‘What I’m going to tell you is going to change your life forever,” he said. “They all cried at the same time, and we all hugged each other.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Following Lazo-Hannecart’s death, her family established a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral expenses and provide support her husband and children. The funeral is set for Sunday, Nov. 9, per the obituary.
On the fundraiser’s website, her family described her as a “loving wife, super mom, sweet daughter, loyal sister and fierce friend.”
Hannecart added to 6ABC that he hopes his wife’s legacy will continue through her work and values.
“Say the truth. Be compassionate and honest,” he said. “This is what I would say because this is who she was, and this is how she has to be remembered.”
Read the original article on People
