Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A young woman from Webberville was killed in a head-on crash with a semi as part of a 46-car pileup in Ohio during the big weekend snowstorm.

19-year-old Emma Smith was among four people who died as a result of the pileup that happened around 12:30pm Friday on the Ohio Turnpike – on eastbound I-80 between state routes 53 and 4 in Gorton Township. Many others were injured according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The three who died were identified as Ohio residents.

Blizzard and whiteout conditions played a role.

Smith was traveling with her boyfriend and his family – all of whom sustained injuries and were hospitalized following the crash. The couple, Lisa and Mark Taylor, and their three children are being cared for in two hospitals in Ohio. They own the Lansing restaurant Fidler on the Grand.

Funeral arrangements are pending. A GoFundMe account has been set up to establish a scholarship fund in Smith’s name for the Mason High School Band Camp, where she graduated in 2021. That link is provided.