What began as an ordinary family excursion ended in unthinkable loss when a mother and her four children died in a horrific interstate crash. Reagan Dougan, 27, was traveling south through Georgia with her infant, two toddlers, and 9-year-old when their SUV collided with another car, struck a guardrail, and became engulfed in flames.
The fatal accident occurred in the early hours of April 6, leaving the children’s father to grapple with the sudden loss of his entire family. Friends say the young mother had recently moved to Raleigh and was devoted to creating a happy home. “She lived for those kids,” shared a family friend. “This is just…unfathomable.”
The tragedy has united strangers in grief, with a GoFundMe campaign nearing six figures to help cover memorial costs. Meanwhile, investigators continue examining the wreckage for clues about what caused the collision.
As tributes flood social media—including photos of a beaming Reagan with her children—the overwhelming sentiment is one of disbelief that such vibrant lives could be extinguished so suddenly. The family’s legacy, friends say, will be the love and light they brought to everyone they knew.
