‘She was watching over those babies’: Six children survive crash that killed their 25-year-old mom

By Kilee Thomas

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    CHOCTAW, Oklahoma (KOCO) — A 25-year-old mother of six died in a crash in Choctaw on Thursday, leaving her six children, who were in the car, behind.

All of her children survived the crash, but the incident left the family heartbroken and changed forever.

On Thursday night, one phone call changed Kristen Tabor’s life forever. She found out her sister, Kaitie, died in a rollover crash along Northeast 23rd Street. Her six children were in the car, including her youngest, who is 3 months old.

“Even though I look like I’m not hurting, it’s killing me. But I have to be strong,” Kristen said. “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.”

Now, her family is just trying to do the same for Kaitie’s children.

“She was just one of a kind. She would do anything for her kids,” Kristen said.

Kristen said five of the children are currently in state custody. The 3-month-old baby is with another one of Kaitie’s sisters.

“The 3-month-old that got ejected, her daughter, walked away with no bruises, nothing. So, we knew as soon as it happened, she was watching over those babies,” Kristen said.

The family said they are now working to get the children with family and ultimately back together.

“All they’ve known is their mom. That’s all they’ve ever had, and their mom bent backwards,” Kristen said.

The cause of Thursday’s crash remains under investigation.

As the family waits for answers, they are also trying to figure out how to lay Kaitie to rest and provide for her children.

“The GoFundMe wasn’t to beg people for money. It was simply to lay my sister down to rest,” Kristen said.

A close friend of Kaitie’s told KOCO that she was always there to pick her up when life was falling apart. She called Kaitie the “type of friend I wish everyone could have.”

Anyone who would like to donate to Kaitie’s children and family can support them through their GoFundMe. Another GoFundMe was created to help her 3-month-old child and her sister who has custody of the baby.

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