Bouakham Khemphomma waited up Wednesday for her husband and two children to arrive home.

The children had been staying with relatives in Minnesota, and the father punched out from his job at Tyson Fresh Meats at 6 a.m. to make the trek up to Mountain Lake in Minnesota to take them back home to Waterloo so they could be ready for the first day of school on Thursday.

“I cooked for them,” she said. “Food was on the table, and I waited.”

But the three never made it home.

At a little after 2:30 p.m., a chain-reaction accident slammed a semi truck into their Honda minivan as they traveled on Interstate 90 near Albert Lea.

All three — father Soubink Khemphomma, 46, son Bambi, 13, and daughter Christi, 11 — died of their injuries.

The mother got news of the fatal collision shortly after 8 p.m. when a police officier knocked on her door.

“It’s sad. It wasn’t his fault,” said Kham Lo, a family friend.

Bambi was a student at Bunger Middle School in Evansdale, and Christi went to Lowell Elementary School.

Instead of school on Thursday, portraits of the three adorned a low table at the Khemphomma residence. Candles flickered to and three sticks of incense smoldered around the clock.

Bouakham Khemphomma explained the candles and smoke are part of a part of a Laotian tradition to beckon the dead home.

Plates on the table held their favorite treats. A pack of Marlboro cigarettes awaited the father. There was a Monster energy drink for Bambi, and a pink teddy bear snuggled next to Christi’s photo.

Soubink Khemphomma had fled Laos and lived in a refugee camp in Thailand before moving to the United States in 1982, family members said. The family had lived in Minnesota and decided to move to Waterloo about five years ago to be closer to friends.

Relatives described Soubink Khemphomma as a mild-mannered man who worked hard to support his family.

Bambi liked break dancing, football and riding his bike. He also played violin.

Relatives remembered Christi as an avid reader who excelled at school, bringing home straight “A”s. She also like cooking and hanging out with friends.

The accident report said the scene of the crash was a construction zone where traffic narrowed to two wet, undivided lanes.

According to Minnesota authorities, a Toyota passenger car driven by Gloria Anderson, 62, of St. Charles, Ill., was headed east and veered over the center line into the westbound lane.

Anderson’s vehicle hit a westbound semi driven by Randy Pedersen, 56, of Swaledale, Iowa. The semi then crossed into the eastbound lane and collided with the Khemphomma’s Honda minivan, according to the State Patrol.

Anderson was also killed, but the truck driver wasn’t injured.