PIKE COUNTY, Ohio — Troopers with the Portsmouth Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol are investigating a two‑vehicle crash that left three people dead and a young child critically injured Monday afternoon in Pike County.

The crash occurred at approximately 1:56 p.m. at the intersection of state Route 32 and Coal Dock Road in Union Township. According to the Patrol, a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse driven by 30‑year‑old Hannah N. Howard of Beaver was traveling north on Coal Dock Road when it failed to yield while crossing Route 32. The vehicle was struck by a westbound 2009 Kenworth T800 tractor‑trailer pulling an empty logging trailer and operated by 27‑year‑old Chance E. Rodgers of Bainbridge.

Howard and two of her passengers, 9‑year‑old Gunner Howard and 5‑year‑old Peyton Howard, both of Beaver, were pronounced dead at the scene.

A third passenger, a four‑year‑old child, was flown to Nationwide Children’s Hospital with serious life‑threatening injuries.

Rodgers was not injured.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that the crash remains under investigation.

The Leesburg Times will continue to follow this story.