TURTLECREEK TWP., Ohio — A head-on collision on State Route 741 in Turtlecreek Township claimed two lives in March, leaving one family mourning their son and another grieving the loss of a mother and devoted daughter.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, 17-year-old Dylan Sougstad was traveling southbound when he crossed the center line, colliding head-on with Chasity Smith. Both vehicles went off the road in opposite directions, and both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene.
"She was my rock, she was just always there," Sherill Songer, Smith's mother, said.
Smith was on her way home the night of the accident after visiting her mom in the hospital. Songer said her daughter was the person you could always call on in their family.
"She was always there and made sure that I was always taken care of, showed me every day how much she loved both me and her (daughter)," Songer said. "She was different than most kids. She was my youngest child, just never left home."
Songer said the last time she saw her daughter was when they shared a meal at the hospital.
WATCH: Smith's family is remembering the devoted mother and the final moments they shared
The 53-year-old leaves behind her mother and her 20-year-old daughter, Shalimar Smith, who has autism.
Shalimar Smith told us she enjoyed bonding with her mother over their workdays and long talks.
"She would do stuff with me, play games with me so that I would be alone; she was just always there," Shalimar said.
We asked what she would say to her mother if she could see her one more time.
"I love you, I didn't say it that day, I don't know if she knew that I loved her," Shalimar Smith said.
Rich Gableman, an attorney helping the family with the case, said he has seen many wrongful death cases and relates deeply to the family's heartbreaking situation.
"I have a daughter at home who has autism. It's hard because my wife always said, you know, being a parent of a disabled child, you want to live forever. You want to protect that child forever. And so I can relate, and that's why it's so hard," Gableman said.
Both families say the stretch of State Route 741 where the crash happened has become extremely dangerous, especially at night.
"It's a tragedy all around, and unfortunately, they all present different levels of grief, but in this particular instance, we know the facts: what the accident report says, what the investigators say and we even have a witness," Gableman said. "We'll have our day in court if we have to, and that's why the family hired me."
Despite her own grief, Songer also talked about Sougstad's family.
"In their own way, they're going to the same hell I'm going through. ... I wish them all the best. I do know what they're going through," Songer said.
The investigation into the crash remains underway.
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