Mother and Her 4 Young Children Die as Their Car Bursts into Flames After Crash in Georgia: Reports

A mother and her four children died after their SUV burst into flames in a collision with another vehicle in south Georgia earlier this week, according to multiple news outlets.

On Sunday, April 6, Reagan Dougan, 27, was driving southbound on I-95 in McIntosh County with her three sons — ages 9, 4 and 3 months — and her 2-year-old daughter in a rented Jeep SUV when the crash occurred around 6 a.m. local time, CBS affiliate WTOC reported. 

The SUV struck a sedan and then a guardrail before bursting into flames, Georgia State Trooper Christopher Ashdown confirmed, according to the Associated Press.

Dougan and her kids had been traveling from Raleigh, N.C., to Florida to meet her husband, who has since been informed of the tragedy, according to the AP and NBC affiliate WRAL.

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The family had moved into a quiet cul-de-sac in Raleigh just months before the fatal crash.

“We always waved at each other, she always had a smile on her face. The kids were always happy,” neighbor Jason Flores told WRAL.

“Their food always smelled good when they cooked it,” Flores continued. “It was something that we never really got to share any time together but passing by. I can imagine them here now, but they’re gone the next.”

The driver of the other vehicle was taken to the hospital, per the AP, and I-95 remained closed for four hours following the crash, according to WTOC.

PEOPLE has reached out to Georgia State Patrol for comment but did not immediately hear back.