The pregnant wife of a young father-to-be is facing an unimaginable future after her husband died following what loved ones described as a “horrific” hiking and rock climbing accident.
Andrew Paul Ferrarone, 33, a Georgia native from Gwinnett County, was rock climbing in Big Bear on July 12 when the devastating accident occurred.
At the time, his wife, Nina, was a little more than eight weeks pregnant.
Ferrarone, who was known to friends and family as Andy, died on July 15 from injuries he suffered in the rock climbing accident, according to his obituary.
“In his 20s, he lived in San Francisco with his best friends, where he first met his wife Nina, before moving to Lake Tahoe, and then San Diego, which he considered home,” the obituary said.
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“Our extended family has suffered another great loss. Our DIL, Caroline, lost her brother Andrew to a freak rock climbing accident. Caroline is a triplet so we grieve along with her brother Tom, her parents Paul and Linda Ferrarone, Andrew’s wife Nina and all of their extended family,” a family member wrote in a post on Threads.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Ferrarone worked as a software engineer for Sierra Space Agency and had previously been employed at a startup called Index.
Funeral and memorial services are expected to take place in San Diego and Peachtree, Georgia.
A GoFundMe was also created to help raise money for Nina to help cover Andy’s medical bills and purchase baby supplies for her first year of motherhood.
“As a flight attendant, Nina took time off work when she learned she was expecting, and now she must navigate rent, a mountain of medical bills, and the costs of welcoming a child without Andy by her side,” the GoFundMe said.
Over $35,000 of the $65,000 goal have been raised so far in just four days.
