KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — One of the last things Krisi Maples did on June 6, before she died in a fatal crash on Western Avenue, was pick up her children from daycare. According to Kristin Webb, the owner of Webb Learning Center, the community is now uplifting Maples' surviving children.
"Bags of things have been donated and money and gift cards and everything that we will hand deliver to the hospital to the family on Thursday," Webb said. "But it has been a tremendous amount of people just pouring into this family."
Webb said the learning center saw Maples almost every day, dropping off and picking up her little ones. The day of the crash would be the last time.
"We have Lennon and Walker, we got them when Walker was 7 months old and Lennon was 2 years old, so they've been with us for two years," Webb said. "I'm not gonna say exactly, but it was very few minutes between the time, so we could have been the last people to talk to her. We don't know. But she picked up her babies and everybody was so happy and talking."
Webb said she heard of the crash from the media, but she said she didn't know until later that it involved Maples and her children. She said she decided to post on social media to help in some way, something that she said she would do for any of the parents who bring their little ones to her center.
"Monetary and gift cards and anything for the kids," Webb said. "We asked for clothing, we asked for things that would be helpful at the hospital — shampoo, conditioner, body washes, towels, easy-to-get-on-and-off clothes, shoes."
Krista's family has also set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help support the family through two funerals and two children recovering in East Tennessee Children's Hospital, and another one in Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Webb described Krista as a phenomenal mother. She said saying goodbye is going to be tough.
"These babies loved their mama and she would do anything for her children. It was very apparent if we made it, anything, supplies, anything — she was the first one to drop things off," Webb said. "Her kids just would cling to her every single day and the part for me that's hardest is knowing that they won't have her anymore."