'Magic' mum-of-three dies after suffering severe burns in horror car accident which left her covered in hot asphalt

Elise Caffee, aged 45, and her husband Dan were on their way to a wedding in Cancun, Mexico, when they were “involved in a 10 plus car pile up”, according to a post set up on an Instagram page to update fans on the influencer’s health.

In the post, which included a photo of the wreckage, it explained that “a truck full of hot asphalt hit them, flipping their car, trapping Elise underneath, and dumping steaming hot asphalt on top of her as well as the people in front of the other cars.”

The accident, on Thursday (March 6), happened right in front of a hospital which meant Elise could receive medical attention quickly. The post went on: “Hospital workers rushed out and immediately started trying to help get people out from under cars as did my Dan, but were getting burned through their protective gloves because the asphalt was so hot.”

Elise’s body was badly burned in the incident, but her face was not. In the last week, Elise’s friends and family have been posting frequent updates on the page, informing the 26,000 fans who are following the page that she had been flown back home to Salt Lake City, United States, and had been given surgery to clean the asphalt from her skin.

She also had further surgery to try to treat the “significant burns” she had, which was done in the hope of improving her kidney function, lung function, blood pressure which was causing “serious concern”. She remained unconscious and in a critical condition.

Yesterday, however, (Thursday March 13), an update was posted to the page to inform fans that Elise had died, one week after the horror accident.

The statement, which was published alongside a photo of Elise, Dan and their three daughters, said: “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 good bye 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.”

It also said that a celebration of life would be planned for Elise and details would be shared on the page when they had been finalised.

Elsie was known as a mummy travel vlogger with more then 47,000 followers. On her page, 3 Kids Travel, she described herself as an “expert travel mom who believes you can take your kids everywhere!” In her final post, just a day before she died, she wrote: “Don’t listen to anyone who says you should wait to travel til your kids hit a certain age. Traveling with little kids has its challenges but often it only gets harder to get away once they are teens.”

After news of her death broke, one fan commented on the post: “ This hits even more differently now. Your kids will forever remember the memories that you didn’t wait until they were older to create with them!”

Even more tributes have been left on the page set up to document her health journey following the accident, Elise Caffee updates. One person, who seemed to know her personally, said: “ I’m so heartbroken, Elise was such an amazing person and I feel so lucky to have had so many memorable experiences together. She will be so missed. We are praying for peace and comfort for all of you.”

Another person said: “Oh, my heart is broken. I am so sorry and so, so sad. Elise was MAGIC. She was a doer and she got it done. I was always in awe of her, and loved coaching along side her and watching her being an amazing mother, wife and friend. Every holiday, milestone, you name it… she oozed love for her girls & a reason to celebrate.

“Having three girls myself… I ache. She was just SO, SO very special and so classy. I know very few people who have made the quiet but kind and confident mark on this world that Elise did. I am out of words. I need to live more like Elise did.”

The driver of Elise and Dan’s car was unable to be rescued in the accident and was pronounced dead at the scene. “Our driver was killed and Elise was severely burned [and] I was uninjured,' Dan wrote on Instagram in the days after the crash. The driver, known only as Luis, leaves behind his wife, Alejandra, as well as his twin daughters, 15, and son, 12.

In the days after the accident, Elise’s family set up a GoFundMe page asking for donations for their 'friends in Mexico' who have been impacted by the accident. At the time of writing, on the morning of Friday March 14, the page has raised more than $66,000 towards a $75,000 goal.

Elise Caffee leaves behind her husband Dan along with their three daughters.