Police in Oklahoma said a car crash last week killed a 25-year-old woman while her six children, who were in the vehicle she was driving, survived.

Family members identified the victim as Kaitie Tabor of Choctaw, reported NBC affiliate KFOR, CBS affiliate KWTV and ABC affiliate KOCO.

According to authorities, the single-vehicle crash happened on Thursday, Sept. 3, near Northeast 23rd Street and North McDonald Road in Choctaw, per the media outlets.

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Tabor’s children, who are 7 and younger, were taken to the hospital after the incident. Police said they were in “stable condition,” reported KOCO.

In an email to PEOPLE on Tuesday, Sept. 8, the Choctaw Police Department confirmed the incident is under investigation and the cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

“Even though I look like I’m not hurting, it’s killing me. But I have to be strong,” Kristen Tabor, Kaitie’s sister, told KOCO. “She was always there for everyone. It didn’t matter what they were going through or what she was going through. She’ll give the shirt she has on her back for everyone.”

Kayla Pair, another sister of Kaitie, told KWTV she received a call about what happened to her sibling the night of the accident. Pair added that Kaitie’s kids are still processing the loss of their mother.

“They really aren’t understanding quite yet what happened,” said Pair. “Her daughter Elena was asking ‘Where’s mommy?’ And she wants mommy. She made such a huge impact on these kids, and she loved these kids.”

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Kaitie’s mom, Alicia Tabor, remembered her daughter as a fierce mother.

“She was always watching, always loving, always protecting,” she told KFOR. “She did love to go to their school things because three of them are in school now, taking them to parks, arcades, and zoos.”

“She’s got four boys and two little girls,” Alicia continued. “Her youngest looks like her. She never pictured her life any differently; she loved showing them off, she was always with them.”

The scene in Choctaw, Okla., where the single-vehicle crash that claimed Kaitie Tabor’s life on Sept. 3, 2026.GoogleMaps
The family said five of the children are being held in state custody, per KOCO. They are hoping that the children will be reunited with relatives.

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In a GoFundMe, Pair said that she filed temporary emergency guardianship for Kaitie’s 4-month-old child, Aurora, and was approved.

“I’m deeply saddened and heartbroken, not only for the loss of my little sister, who I spent 25 years with, but for all of my nieces and nephews who are hurt, sad, and confused about where their momma is,” Pair wrote. “Aurora was thrown out of the vehicle and had not even a scratch; she was truly protected by something beyond us, and I will continue to protect, love, and cherish her, not only for her but for my sister.”

Alicia Tabor told KFOR that she still feels her late daughter’s presence, saying that she still calls and messages her.

“It still doesn’t feel real because she’s only 25 years old,” she said.