Kevin CellucciLast month, a horrible midday car accident on the Arborway near Forest Hills left several people injured— including Dorchester carpenter and father of three Kevin Cellucci, who remains in a coma. Next month, his family, friends, and supporters will come together to support him with a fundraiser.

Pete Alvarado, Kevin’s cousin, still remembers the disturbing call from his sister on the day of the accident. He rushed to the hospital, where he found family members, close friends, and a parish priest from St. Brendan’s church.

“He made it through surgery and time will tell how severe things are,” Alvarado said at his Quincy home. “We were up there until about 3 in the morning, and we came home and went right back up in the morning.”

Kevin remained in a coma as of Tuesday, a state he had been in for 25 days, according to Alvarado.
“It’s tough looking at him every day just sitting there and not being able to communicate with him,” Alvarado said. He added that the ordeal has been particularly difficult for Kevin’s wife Tina LaMonica and his three young children – Stephen, 4, Declan, 3, and Paul, 3 months.

Cellucci, a lover of the Patriots and fantasy football, is everyone’s favorite, Alvarado said.

“He loves being around his family and he’s always in a good mood,” Alvarado said. “He is a free spirit and has a great laugh and smile.”

Since Kevin has been in the coma, his son Stephen scored his first goal in a Dorchester Youth Soccer Club.

“That’s going to bum him out when he finds out he wasn’t there for it,” Alvarado said of Kevin.

The Dorchester Youth Soccer Club has posted about the Kevin Cellucci Foundation on its website, dyssoccer.com.

Since the accident, Alvarado has taken stock of his own life.

“It puts everything in perspective,” he said. “It makes you think about living every day like it’s your last.”
Alvarado said he sees other families in the Intensive Care Unit getting bad news and feels terrible for them.

Alvarado said he also had sympathy for the four boys from Latin Academy, who were found to be speeding and caused the accident on the Arborway in Jamaica Plain on Sept. 6 that left Kevin in the coma.

“I’ve said it all along – our thoughts and prayers go out to their families, as well,” he said.

As calls and e-mails piled up from those offering their best wishes to the family, so too have the medical bills and living expenses for Kevin’s family. Alvarado and other close friends and family decided to put together a website at kevincelluccifoundation.com, where donations can be sent.

They are also planning an event on Saturday, Nov. 2. It will be held at the IBEW Local 103 Hall at 256 Freeport St. in Dorchester.

Tickets are $20 or $25 at the door and the event will feature live and silent auctions, along with musical entertainment and local actor Kevin Chapman from “Person of Interest” on CBS.

In the mean time, Kevin’s friends and family will man a booth at the Dorchester Irish Heritage Festival on Oct. 13 to sell raffle tickets.

For more information about the event or to donate a raffle or auction item, contact kevincelluccifoundation@gmail.com.