Mother who broke America’s heart after losing all three of her children in car crash dies of aggressive brain cancer aged just 48

A California mother who tragically lost her three children in a horror car accident has died from aggressive brain cancer less than 20 years on.

Lori Coble broke hearts across America in 2007 when a big rig truck slammed into the back of her minivan, killing her children Kyle Christopher, 5, Emma Lynn, 4, and Katie Gene, 2.

The mother became a symbol of resilience as she and her husband Chris overcame the trauma of the crash, and welcomed triplets through IVF almost exactly a year after their children died.

Lori shared her story with Oprah in 2010, where she said being blessed with triplets felt like a miracle. Gut-wrenchingly said she was on a journey toward forgiving the driver who crashed into her family three years earlier.

She became a campaigner for increased highway safety while raising her family, but in June 2025 Chris says he began to realize something was wrong.

He told People that he noticed Lori was ‘getting more clumsy’, and would accidentally run into walls, stub her toe, and drop drinking glasses on a more regular basis.

Within a month, he says he noticed stroke-like symptoms, as Lori’s ‘mouth started to droop a little bit… it became too much to ignore.’

After taking her to hospital, Lori was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, devastating the family almost 20 years after the tragedy that took the lives of their three young children.

‘I was hoping we were done with the life-changing, life-altering disasters where life as you knew it yesterday is gone,’ he said.

In 2007, a big rig truck slammed into the back of Lori Coble’s minivan, killing her children Kyle Christopher, 5, Emma Lynn, 4, and Katie Gene, 2

Lori is pictured with her husband Chris and the triplets she gave birth to a year after the deaths of her other three children. Tragically, she has now died of brain cancer aged just 48

Lori died on Wednesday evening aged 48, just weeks after being put on hospice care with stage 4 glioblastoma.

her family shared the news on social media, writing that she was ‘deeply loved and supported throughout this journey’ as she fought the disease for months.

‘Lori was deeply loved and supported throughout this journey. She was surrounded by care, peace, and those who held her close as she passed,’ her family wrote.

‘Her strength, kindness, and quiet courage touched far more people than she ever realized.’

The family received an outpouring of support, as many paid tribute to Lori for having rebuilt her life in the wake of losing her children.

Earlier this month, Chris told People as his wife entered hospice care that only welcoming their triplets – Jake Christopher, Ashley Lynn, Ellie Gene, each carrying an older sibling’s middle name – got him through the heartbreak almost 20 years ago.

‘It took me over four years to come out of the fog and pain of what happened,’ he said.

Lori shared her story with Oprah in 2010, where she said being blessed with triplets felt like a miracle, and gut-wrenchingly said she was on a journey toward forgiving the driver who crashed into her family three years earlier

Lori’s husband Chris said her terminal brain cancer diagnosis was devastating after having previously lost their children. ‘I was hoping we were done with the life-changing, life-altering disasters where life as you knew it yesterday is gone,’ he said

Lori seen in hospital with her triplets Jake Christopher, Ashley Lynn, Ellie Gene, each carrying an older sibling’s middle name

‘The first three years of raising the triplets you have this mix of joy and happiness and at the same time, you’re in pain on the inside.

‘There’s these three babies and they’re all joy…. But at the same time, I was trying to avoid falling apart in front of them, I’d go into the other room and cry real quick and come back and put a smile on my face.’

Family friend Becky Leonard said Lori re-dedicated herself to raising her triplets, saying she found her resilience ‘extraordinary.’

‘Everybody who knows her, loves her,’ she said. ‘First and foremost, she’s a mom.’

Chris said when Lori was diagnosed with brain cancer, doctors told her she had two choices – to fight it and possibly survive another year, or be made comfortable for the remainder of her time she had left.

‘She wanted to fight it,’ Chris said.

Chris said Lori’s diagnosis came after he noticed she was ‘getting more clumsy’, and would accidentally run into walls, stub her toe, and drop drinking glasses on a more regular basis – before her ‘mouth started to droop a little bit… it became too much to ignore’

Tributes poured in for Lori following news of her passing as she became a symbol of hope and resilience for many across America

He added at the time, three weeks before Lori passed away: ‘Everything we do is not to save her life, it’s to keep her alive as long as possible.

‘I started mourning the loss of my wife the day she got diagnosed. I didn’t have a lot of hope at the outset – and that weighed heavily on me. I was really upset, mad, angry. How could this be happening to us again?’

He recalled that after her first brain surgery, Lori told him: ‘This isn’t going to take me down. I’m not done.’

‘She wants to be a grandma. She wants to be there when her kids graduate. She wants her life that she’s built so beautifully,’ he said at the time.

But a second surgery was more complicated, and resulted in Lori losing motor control on her left side.

‘There were a lot of people in the hospital that were really pulling for her,’ he said.

Lori tragically went downhill following the surgery, and by mid-November she suffered a brain infection, which was followed by an infection in her lungs and pneumonia.

‘I would give my life for hers in a heartbeat. But I can’t do that. I’m helpless,’ he said.