GoFundMe
- Popular mom influencer Elise Caffee died just days after being severely burned in a multi-vehicle crash while in Cancun, Mexico for a friend’s wedding. According to her family, a truck carrying hot asphalt struck her vehicle, flipping it over. Its contents poured onto Caffee.
- Through an Instagram account, Caffee’s family updated her social media followers as they prayed for her recovery in a Salt Lake City hospital.
- The family announced Caffee passed away Wednesday, March 12, from her injuries and said a celebration of life would be announced soon.
Full Story
Elise Caffee, a popular parenting travel blogger, died Wednesday, March 12, nearly one week after being severely burned in a 10-car pileup while in Cancun, Mexico, according to her family. During the chain-reaction crash, a truck carrying hot asphalt struck the vehicle Caffee and her husband Dan were riding in and killed the driver.
Who was Elise Caffee?
Elise Caffee was a 45-year-old wife and a mother of three from Utah. Caffee amassed a large fanbase on Instagram under the account “3kidstravel,” where she documented trips with her husband and their daughters. Her videos, which included tips for traveling on a plane with kids to deciding when the right age is to start vacationing with children, reached over 48,000 followers.
On Facebook, Caffee’s brother, Scott Smith, CEO of the screen recorder company Zight, posted a message the morning of Thursday, March 13 about his sibling. Smith said his sister “packed more life into those [45] years than most do in a lifetime,” and added, “I will miss her laugh so much.”
“She helped everyone,” Smith said. “A fierce advocate for refugees, a champion for disadvantaged students, an entrepreneur in the book publishing world, and the kind of person who somehow always made time for those who needed her. Like our dad, she was always go, go, go—always with a plan, always accomplishing something remarkable, and always making time for a treat.”
What happened in Cancun on March 6?
According to an Instagram account dedicated to providing updates on Caffee’s recovery, Elise Caffee Updates, and a GoFundMe page set up by her family, Caffee and her husband had traveled to Cancun for a friend’s wedding on Thursday, March 6. They were on the way from the airport to their hotel when the multi-vehicle accident occurred on a highway.
“Their car was struck by a truck filled with asphalt that fell on top of them, trapping Elise and their driver Luis inside the vehicle as the boiling hot contents of the truck poured in,” a message on the GoFundMe page read. “Elise was able to be removed from the van after a great deal of effort by Dan and first responders that rushed to help, however, Luis was not able to get out in time and unfortunately passed away at the scene.”
Point phone camera here
A Friday, March 7, post on the Elise Caffee Updates Instagram account said the crash happened in front of a hospital.
“Hospital workers rushed out and immediately started trying to help get people out from under cars as did Dan, but were getting burned through their protective gloves because the asphalt was so hot. Elise’s body is badly burned, her face is not,” the post read.
What happened to Elise Caffee after the crash?
As the days went on, the Instagram account updated its followers with the latest on Caffee’s recovery which, at time, showed promising signs.
A Saturday, March 8, post from the hospital in Mexico read, “Elise still remains critically stable (intubated and sedated) in the ICU,” followed by a post later showing Caffee being flown back to a hospital in Salt Lake City.
“Elise will be brought in for surgery later this morning. The surgery will involve cleaning off the asphalt from her skin, removing dead skin, making nice clean edges/cuts where she is burned, and skin grafting what they can,” another post read.
On Sunday, March 9, Caffee’s surgery was postponed to allow her additional time to improve.
“We are closely monitoring her vital signs and several other metrics for continued improvement,” a post on the Elise Caffee Updates account said. “We’ve already seen some improvement from last night.”
As Caffee prepared for surgery, her family said they were seeing improvements in “her numbers in the last 24 hours that have given us cause to be hopeful.”
On Tuesday, March 11, the account said Caffee was recovering from surgery to remove damaged tissue from the previous day.
“Elise remains in critical condition. She’s fighting for her life right now. She continues to need your prayers,” the post read.
The account said Dan and their daughters then spent time with their wife and mother as she laid unconscious in her hospital bed. Caffee’s daughters helped braid her hair and Dan serenaded his wife with a guitar.
Elise Caffee Updates announced that Caffee had passed away Wednesday night. The following caption was attached to a picture of the couple with their three daughters:
“We are absolutely heartbroken to share the news of Elise’s passing tonight. She held on so long and fought so hard against an impossibly difficult set of circumstances. Absolutely everything that could have been done for her was done and we are so grateful she was able to make it back home to say goodbye to her family before leaving us.
“We believe in eternal families and know we’ll see our beautiful mom, sister, wife, and daughter again. We’re so grateful for all the prayers and love that have buoyed us up in the last few days and that we know will continue to in the days ahead.”
In a Facebook post early Thursday, March 13, her brother, Scott Smith, also shared the devastating news.
“We love you, Elise. We miss you more than words can say,” Smith said.
The family said they would soon share information about an upcoming service and celebration of life for Caffee.
What has the response been from her multitudes of followers?
There has been an outpouring of support for the mom influencer and her family. Each Instagram update has garnered thousands of likes. Caffee’s family said they received hundreds of letters as they documented her time in the Salt Lake City hospital.
Though her family, through the Elise Caffee Updates Instagram page, alerted that some of Caffee’s fans were taking their interest in her health a little too far while she was in the hospital.
“The hospital has informed us that they are receiving floods of calls to get updates on Elise, some from people pretending to be family. This is taking valuable time away from the hospital staff that should be going towards treating our sister,” a March 8 post read.
How has Caffee’s supporters helped the family of the driver?
While Caffee’s family said they felt blessed by the public’s “love and generosity” to want to help, they said they had “sufficient insurance coverage and funds to cover their expenses.” But that was not the case for the family of the couple’s driver in Mexico, Luis, who died in the pileup.
Caffee’s loved ones started a GoFundMe page to help Luis’ family cover funeral expenses, potential legal fees and other needs his “family will have during this difficult time and in the days ahead.”
“Unfortunately, Luis, leaves behind his wife, Alejandra as well as his twin daughters (15), and son (12), without their family’s main provider. We are asking you to take the love and generosity that you feel towards our family during this time of crisis, and direct it to helping our friends in Mexico who have also been impacted by this horrible accident,” a message on the GoFundMe page reads.
Get up to speed on the stories leading the day every weekday morning. Sign up for the newsletter today!
By entering your email, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and acknowledge the Privacy Policy.
On LinkedIn, Smith added, “In this difficult time, we want to rally together to support his family. If you’re able, please consider donating to help them through this unimaginable loss. Every contribution makes a difference.”
As of Friday, March 14, the GoFundMe page amassed over $67,000.
Straight to your inbox.
By entering your email, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and acknowledge the Privacy Policy.
