The parents of Payton Henry want those who didn’t know her to know this: She loved life.

Brooke Ford and Justin Henry, of Webster City, the 6-year-old’s parents, said Sunday through a relative that not only did Payton love life, but she loved helping others.

“She was always the mother hen in her group of friends and with her brother and sister. She had such a bright spirit that everyone noticed her as soon as she walked in the room and always had a story to tell,” they said.

The family, whose Christmas plans ended on the two-lane highway between Duncombe and Fort Dodge, was hoping a miracle would save the daughter most seriously injured Friday morning.

But Payton Henry, of Webster City, was taken off life support Saturday, according to Jana Bartlett, of Fort Dodge, a family member who started a social media movement to help the young family.

“She just lit up a room,” Bartlett said late Saturday night.

Payton Henry’s death was also reported by the Iowa State Patrol.

Bartlett started the Go Fund Me page for the family after the Christmas morning accident.

Justin Henry, 28, was driving his family to Fort Dodge for Christmas with extended family when his pickup collided head-on with a vehicle traveling eastbound in the wrong lane.

Altogether, six people were hurt.

The worst of them was Payton Henry.

“We have a very large family,” another family member, Brandy Holmes, said Saturday, “so I know Justin, Brooke, Payton, Haley and Rowyn are surrounded with love during this tragedy. My only hope is that they find peace from within because I can’t even imagine what they are going through.”

“It’s extremely hard for me to deal with the fact that my family has to go through this and I’m all the way out in San Diego,” Holmes said. “I feel all that I can do is promote their GFM page to raise funds and share their story.”

By Sunday afternoon, the Go Fund Me page for the family had topped $21,000 and was rising steadily. It is called the Brooke & Justin Family Fund and can be accessed online.

According to the page, Payton Henry not only sustained a broken neck in the crash, but first responders discovered that candy had been lodged in her throat.

“She was without oxygen for too long,” Holmes wrote.

The rest of the family, Rowyn Henry, an infant; Hayley Henry, 3; Justin Henry and Brooke Ford, 24, all sustained incapacitating injuries, the Iowa State Patrol reported.

Ruth Tomlinson, 20, of Fort Dodge, the driver of the other vehicle, a Jeep Wrangler, was also hurt.

The incident happened near the intersection of 200th Street and Vincent Avenue around 10:51 a.m., according to ISP Trooper Neil Morenz.

Morenz reported that while the family was heading west towards Fort Dodge, Tomlinson’ vehicle was eastbound on the same road. Tomlinson was left of center on the wrong side of the road, he said.

The two vehicles collided head-on, causing Tomlinson’s Jeep to catch fire.

The injured were taken to Trinity Regional Medical Center.

Payton Henry, according to Holmes, was then Life Flighted to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines.

Although there was fog on Christmas morning, Morenz said investigators don’t believe it was a factor in the accident.