LUCASVILLE, Ohio ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Three young children were killed in a crash over Memorial Day weekend, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
In a wreck May 24, three children, Mary A. Copas, 4, Madison O. Copas, 6, and Xavier A. Smith, 5, were killed in a crash on Ohio 104 in Scioto County.
Gage A. Smith, 22, of Piketon, Ohio, was driving a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier northbound when he passed one vehicle and lost control, traveled left of center and struck another vehicle driven by Tyler M. Bellaw, 29, of Piketon, who was driving a 1994 F150 Ford.
A frontseat passenger in SmithÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s vehicle, Courtney D. Copas, sustained serious injuries. She initially was taken to the Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth before being sent to Grant Hospital.
The children were in the back seat of the vehicle Smith was driving and were killed in the crash, according to a report from the Highway Patrol.
Smith was treated at Southern Ohio Medical Center and released in custody of authorities who transported him to the Scioto County Jail. He is suspected of being under the influence of drugs of abuse, and impairment is believed to be a factor in the crash, according to the report.
Smith is being charged with three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and one count of aggravated vehicular assault, according to the report.
The crash remains under investigation.
Statewide, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported 14 crashes resulting in 17 deaths on OhioÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s roads during the 2024 Memorial Day weekend, according to provisional statistics Tuesday. That number is a decrease from last year, when 26 people were killed. The four-day reporting period began Friday, May 24 and ran through Monday, May 27.
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