Mom Killed in Collision with Bus Just Days After Christmas

A “much loved” mom died in a car crash in England just days after Christmas.

Karen Marks, 34, was traveling down the A10 near the city of Ely at about 12:25 p.m. local time on Sunday, Dec. 28, “when her white Fiat Punto was in collision with a single-decker bus,” according to a news release from the Cambridgeshire Police.

The woman, who was from Littleport, Cambridgeshire, “was pronounced dead at the scene,” police said. 

Family described Marks in a statement as “very much-loved daughter, mother and sister” who “touched so many people’s lives.”

“Once you met Karen, you would never forget her,” her family said in the statement, which was shared by police. 

They went on to say that Marks “was like a firework” and that she lit up a room as soon as she walked in the door.

A passenger who was in the vehicle with Marks at the time of the fatal crash, who has only been identified by officials as a man in his 40s, was hospitalized with serious injuries and is now in stable condition, according to police.

Meanwhile, nobody on the bus was injured.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

It is unclear what caused the fatal crash and police are now asking anyone “who saw what happened or has dashcam footage of the collision, or the moments leading up to it” to come forward.

Ely is the second smallest city in England and is about 80 miles from London, according to CambridgeshireLive.