A family from Bedford has been left devastated after three members died in a tragic car accident on holiday in Italy.
As reported in the Daily Mirror, Antonino (Tony) Marsala, 40, his wife Raffaella Marsala, 32, and their son Lorenzo, 15, were involved in a road collision in Piedmont, northwest Italy.
It is understood the family, who were travelling to their home town of Calamonaci in Sicily, were visiting relatives in the area.
Antonino was well-known in Bedford as an MOT tester and many tributes have been paid on the business’s Facebook page.
DOMS Auto Service posted a message saying: “We are taking some time for the loss of some of our beautiful family.
“We are devastated and heartbroken to say have lost our son and brother Tony, his beautiful wife Raffaella and grandson/nephew Lorenzo.
“There is a gaping hole in our family nothing will fill. We thank you for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.”
The Daily Mirror article stated: “According to Italian reports, the accident occurred on the Ivrea-Santhià link road that connects the A4 Turin-Milan motorway with the A5 Turin-Aosta, on the border between the provinces of Biella and Turin.
“Two cars were involved in the crash, a Toyota Yaris and a Fiat Panda, which ended up on the side of the road. The Marsala family, who were travelling in the Fiat Panda towards Santhià, all died upon impact, local reports say.
“Four people travelling in the Toyota Yaris were all seriously injured and transported by helicopter to a hospital in Novara. Investigations are ongoing in Italy into the official cause of the accident.”
The mayor of the family’s home town of Calamonaci, Pino Spinelli, left a message of condolence on social media.
He stated the three “were returning from England to Sicily, for a period of vacation, to meet their relatives again and on the occasion of the forthcoming feast of San Vincenzo Ferreri”.
He wrote: “I am very saddened by what has happened. The Marsala family had lived in England for some time, but in Calamonaci they still had many relatives, family and friends.
“From what I learned, they had decided to return to Calamonaci, in these days, precisely to attend the traditional festival dedicated to our patron, San Vincenzo Ferreri, which we are preparing to live after three years of pandemic and restrictions that have not allowed us.”
