COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – All lanes are now open after a deadly crash occurred in north Columbus early Friday morning.
According to Columbus police, one person is dead and three others have been hospitalized in stable condition after a four-vehicle crash on Interstate 71 South near Historic Crew Stadium.
Emergency crews responded to the scene just after midnight Friday when two cars and a semi-truck were involved in the deadly crash, between the Huston Street and 17th Street exits.
Police said that a woman was driving a KIA Forte northbound in the southbound lanes of I-71, approaching 17th Avenue. The KIA struck the side of a Ford Fusion traveling southbound, then continued north and struck a Jeep Grand Cherokee head-on.
The Jeep spun off the west side of the highway, while the Ford came to rest in the middle lane. The KIA was then hit by an oncoming Volvo semitruck heading south. The impact ejected the driver of the KIA.
The driver of the KIA, later identified as Ariana Williams, was pronounced dead at 12:14 a.m. Three adults traveling in the Jeep were all hospitalized in stable condition while the drivers of the Ford and semitruck were treated at the scene.
The crash caused I-71 to close for several miles, as far north as Interstate 270 interchange, before the northbound lanes were cleared a few hours later. Crews were able to clear all lanes from debris from the crash just after 5 a.m., when all lanes were declared open.
Police do not yet know what led to the crash, which remains under investigation.