A Florida mother was killed and her three young children were injured in a car accident on Interstate 95 on Memorial Day after a truck experienced a tire blowout and collided with their van.
Olivia Maggs, 32, was driving in the southbound lanes of I-95 by the Pineda Causeway in Brevard County on Monday afternoon when a tire blew out on an F-350, according to FOX 35 Orlando via Florida Highway Patrol.
The blowout caused the driver of the truck, which was traveling in the center lane, to lose control and collide with Maggs’ Honda Odyssey van, the outlet reported. Both vehicles went off the road and struck a guardrail.
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Maggs was pronounced dead at the scene, while her three children – an infant girl and two toddler boys – were airlifted to Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital, according to a GoFundMe set up by Maggs’ sister-in-law.
“By the grace of God, kind strangers stopped to help and pulled the children from the vehicle,” she wrote, adding that the baby girl had a broken femur and a brain bleed. The two boys were also hurt, but “they are okay,” she said.
The 58-year-old truck driver and his 20-year-old passenger were not injured and remained at the scene of the crash, FOX 35 reported.
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Maggs was a “dedicated” and “beloved” nurse at Parrish Medical Center, the health system wrote on Facebook in a post mourning her death. She worked at the hospital for nine years and began in the Medical-Surgical Department as a graduate nurse before transferring to the Women’s Center.
“Olivia’s kindness, strength and gentle spirit left a lasting impact on her patients, fellow Care Partners and everyone fortunate enough to know her. Our hearts are with her family, friends and children during this unimaginable time. We are grieving alongside them and will forever carry her memory in our hearts,” the post stated.
Hundreds of comments were left on the post, with dozens of women sharing their positive experiences with Maggs as a nurse and as a friend.
“You never forget the name and face of someone who made such a lasting impression on you. For all three of my children’s births at Parrish Olivia was one of the most encouraging and supportive nurses. She guided me through strapping my firstborn in his car seat as we had never done it before and I was so anxious. My heart is with her family and all who mourn her,” one woman wrote.
More than $126,000 had been donated to the GoFundMe account as of early Wednesday morning.
“Olivia was a kind, beautiful soul—a loving and gentle mother, devoted wife, and cherished daughter, sister, friend, and compassionate nurse. Her absence leaves a deep void in the hearts of all who knew and loved her,” the GoFundMe reads.
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