A pregnant woman and a teenager were among the four people killed in a 46-vehicle pileup on the Ohio Turnpike on Friday, according to officials.
WTOL stated that three of the fatalities were named as Bernard M. Bloniarz, 59, of Napoleon, Ohio; Emma L. Smith, 19, of Webberville, Michigan; and Julie E. Roth, 37, of Toledo.
The fourth person has not been identified until notification of their family of their death, according to authorities.
The accident occurred near milepost 106 on the Ohio Turnpike during deadly “whiteout conditions” as winter storm Elliott pummeled the United States with subzero temperatures and heavy snow, killing at least 57 people, including 28 in the Buffalo region.
Julie Roth and her unborn child perished in the collision.
Crews from Toledo, more than 45 minutes away, were summoned to aid in extrication.
A 30-year veteran of the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department told WTOL, “I’ve never seen anything like it.” “It was one of the worst occurrences I’ve ever dealt with.”
Roth and her unborn child did not survive the incident, according to Chris Rother, her brother-in-law, who created a GoFundMe account to assist her family. Her two other children survived the accident, but have sustained severe injuries.
“The children have been sent to several hospitals to receive the care they require after being involved in the accident and being stranded in the cold awaiting rescue,” Chris Roth wrote. Monday evening at 9:00 p.m., almost $55,000 had been donated.
Smith, a student at a community college, was sadly killed in the collision.
“I find it difficult to express that our precious daughter, Emma Smith, departed this world on Friday, December 23,” her father Matthew G. Smith said on Facebook.
“Details on her funeral will be provided here shortly. “It would be lovely if someone could share an Emma story with my family,” he wrote.
Friday about 11:45 a.m., the first of several collisions occurred between State Route 53 and State Route 4 in Sandusky and Erie Counties, according to WTVG.
After a second collision at 12:30 p.m., the huge pileup began to build, according to authorities. Approximately fifty automobiles were engaged, according to OSHP Sgt. Ryan Purpura.
Numerous individuals were also hurt, but officials have not disclosed the exact number.
OSHP reported that cars were seeing “whiteout conditions” on the roads due to strong winds and snowfall.
Twelve states, including Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, lost residents to the “once in a lifetime” winter storm.
»Pregnant woman, teen among 4 dead in Ohio turnpike crash«