COLUMBUS – A 16-month-old was killed and a 4-year-old injured when they were thrown from a car that struck three other vehicles during a traffic crash on the Southeast Side Wednesday afternoon, Columbus police said.
BABY DIED, CHILD CRITICALLY INJURED:
8/5/20@5:23pm-25yo Antonette Smith driving on Refugee Rd.
Multiple crashes followed.
4yo Aryian Smith & 16mo Amir Parks ejected from Smith’s car.
Parks was subsequently overrun by Smith’s car and passed away.
Investigation ongoing. pic.twitter.com/jDUmKZFtXq
— Columbus Division of Police (@ColumbusPolice) August 6, 2020
Antonette Smith, 25, was driving eastbound on Refugee Road in a Nissan Altima at 5:23 p.m. when she tried to pass other eastbound traffic by driving left of center and entering the westbound lanes where she struck a westbound Ford Escape, Sgt. Brooke Wilson of the Columbus police Accident Investigation Unit said.
Smith’s vehicle then re-entered the eastbound lanes and struck a GMC Yukon, driven by Luis Pagan, 43, which forced his vehicle into a light pole, and Smith’s car then struck a Pontiac G6.
During these multiple collisions, 4-year-old Aryian Smith and 16-month-old Amir Parks were thrown from Smith’s car, which ran over Amir Parks, Wilson said.
The children were both transported by to Nationwide Children’s Hospital where Amir Parks was pronounced dead on arrival and Aryian Smith was admitted in critical condition, Wilson said.
There were no other injuries reported.
The accident is still under investigation.