Break all traffic right now. Got three kids in the back. >> I'm a bad dad. >> I'm a bad dad. >> Calm down, man. I'll be back in a second. I need a drink. My woman okay, man. I'm not even going to lie to you guys. Like, I do not have my license. >> Friday, May 24th, 2024, Sciota County, Ohio. What should have been a simple drive home after a kindergarten graduation ended in a head-on collision on State Route 104, triggering one of the most devastating rescue operations this community has ever witnessed. Behind the crash wasn't only speeding. It was an unlicensed driver operating a deteriorated vehicle that should have never been on the road. What isn't seen on camera is what will define this case. messages revealing op trafficking and ox in the driver's system and a series of decisions that turned recklessness into a conscious act of deadly risk. I'm Tyler and this is your daily dose of crime. Make sure that you never miss a case. Be sure to subscribe to Daily Dose of Crime right now and join the investigation in the comments below. We'll be waiting for you there. >> Cut this part. I don't know. >> Babies in the back seat. >> Responding. >> I need some people over here. in my life. >> 1884. 1884. Break all traffic right now. 1884. >> I've got three kids in the back. Small. We're trying to cut the doors off. One may be a signal 30. I need help from fire department. Anything I can get. Signal five. When we need to cut I don't >> I don't know. Do you want to drag him out there? >> I I would start cutting everything. >> I mean, we can just try to drag him out. >> Then I would drag him out. >> Okay. You want me to cut the seat belt out? Let me cut Can we cut whatever we got cut out? >> Cut the seat belt. Cut. >> Okay. Well, then let me completely >> Can I Can I get in here and try to find something? Okay. Can you please get my baby out? We're working on it. Appreciate everything you're doing. My baby's my world. >> I got the seat belt cut. I just >> When officers arrive, the rural stillness of State Route 104 is broken by the metallic sound of rescue tools. The 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier is crushed beyond recognition. The rear of the car, where the three children were seated, is nearly folded into the front seats. At the wheel is Gage A. Smith, age 24, dazed and bleeding. His partner, Courtourtney Kopus, is barely breathing while the children remain trapped in the wreckage. The air is thick with gasoline and brake dust, and every second matters. The officers work under pressure, knowing that one wrong move could make the situation worse. They don't yet know that this car, unregistered, uninsured, and with a failing brake system, is the product of a string of choices that will end in four deaths. No. >> Do we have anybody with a saw or anything? >> We have more. We have Valley coming. We have to come down. >> They're coming. >> They're coming. That squad don't help. >> Thank you for getting my son out. >> There you go. Thank you. Over here. Over here. Over here. >> Where's the other door? There's more in the back. >> We got a female still. >> We don't care what happened. Let's just get the babies out. There's another >> There's another build. He's got a belt on. >> Three of them, guys. I have three babies in here. >> I wish I would have never babe. Are you breathing? >> Breathe for me. Okay. >> I don't breathe. You're okay. >> Someone can get in there and get a hold of him and jack him out. >> I'm really worried about my little girl. >> Can we get >> wake up? See, I'm trying to jack this right here. Get that door open. Wake up. >> Try if it'll break loose. Get it. >> I need whatever we can do. Just break it loose. >> The car wreck and the babies are in the car. We need you need to wake up. >> I will get I got you, man. With everything I got in me to put that back. >> Hey, back up. Back up. >> What about her head? >> Back up. >> She has seizures. >> I understand that. >> All right. Back up. >> All right. Thank you. Please. Thank you. Please. >> I don't know if we can. I don't know either. >> Can we lift her out? >> Whatever we got to do. If we can get her out enough, we can move this. >> I need this jack out of my way. We need to get her out. >> Uh, there's one here. >> Got a bar there. >> One there. >> Can we get just lift her out? Whatever we got to do to get her out. Okay. >> Where my baby? >> Where my baby? >> She She ain't She ain't buckled in no more, right? >> She ain't buckled in. Just get her out. How are we going to get her out? >> I know. >> Keep crying. Keep quiet. >> Can you direct the squad in here? >> I need to get all their mom and dad right now. >> Right now. >> I need to get >> Bring the squad in. They're coming around. >> I'm a veteran. >> I'm a vet. >> I'm a bad guy. >> Come on, lady. >> Come on. >> I need her out. >> I can't [ __ ] her from this angle. >> What is it? >> Oh my god. >> I can't get her from this angle. I'm >> not going to be able to lift her out of here. Right here, boss. I I need at least one more person. She's going to have to give us a little bit of help. >> Open the door. Let's get her in there. >> Grab the fish. >> Hold on. Pull. Just pull. >> I don't care. >> We're better off just to get them out and leave them in there. >> Yeah. >> I pulled the board as far as as much as I can get it. >> You want me to get in there? Pull them out. >> You want me in there? >> Oh my god. >> We don't have anything to get in there. What the happened? >> Please. >> Oh my god. >> Please get my baby. >> No, I just want them. >> They're all They're buying everything. >> I know they are. I know they are. >> [ __ ] Everything I call >> It doesn't matter. >> I want them to know right now. We got one more. Her head's over here. >> Her head's pinned over here badly. >> I need a sol. I mean, she's pinned. I can't think. >> I wonder if the seat will move. Let's >> come out. If you got a saw, we need a saw. >> We need a saw to cut the seat. I'm shooting. >> While rescue crews continue their efforts, investigators quietly begin piecing together the first clues. The Cavaliers registration doesn't trace back to Smith, but to a third party who had previously reported it as a salvage vehicle. That explains the extreme deterioration, cracked tires, altered brakes, and a disabled safety system. Crash reconstruction confirms that the car was traveling at over 80 mph in a 55 zone. After passing another vehicle on a blind curve inside the car, investigators find a crushed pain pills and a THC vape pen pointing toward impairment as a key factor. What initially looked like a domestic tragedy now fits a broader pattern. an unlicensed drug impaired driver in an unfit vehicle making choices that culminated in the worst possible outcome. >> Will that seat move forward? That arm cruiser for a lever >> here. Right here. Thank you so much for >> Oh my god. I know. God damn it. between the filter forward. >> Watch your eyes. What is that? Is that a U- hook? No, I need to break out. Break out. Back up. Back up. Back off the car. >> He's got He's got controls. Yeah. Watch out. 4 miles north of town. Come back. I got you. >> Well, that will that whole thing just slipped up. >> I don't know. Not right there. Sorry. Hey, there's a Herand is right there. >> Her hand is right there. >> Her leg is I don't know if there's a way to cut that. >> Put that thing in here. did anything enough to grab her arm. Where's her arm? >> Oh, she's she's stuck in. She's still on. >> I got I need to attack. Hey, keep moving those little back doors. They they still need to keep going. >> There's a pinpoint on that one. We got to go out of here. >> Yeah. I think >> I'm in the direction. >> We cut it. We cut it. >> I cut it. It's free. >> We need another medic. Well, I don't know what we got. >> We need another medic. >> Do we have anatic unit? >> I'm going. I'm going. >> Hold that. Hold that right here. There's a seat right here. >> There. Anybody got everybody coming? >> Once the victims are freed, forensic teams begin a detailed survey of the scene. Just a few meters from the point of impact, they record 34 m of intermittent skid marks indicating a loss of traction before collision. The tire remnants confirm severe wear and dry rot. findings later verified in the mechanical report. A paramedic notes that Smith wasn't wearing a seat belt and that at least two of the children had not been properly restrained. Factors that worsened the injuries. Amongst Smith's belongings, officers document a medication box with its serial number filed off, a syringe without a needle, and a small packet containing white powder. These discoveries justify a warrant for a deeper forensic search later that day. Each piece of evidence reinforces the same conclusion. An unfit vehicle, a driver under the influence, and three unprotected children. What began as a rescue has now become a crime scene. >> We need somebody with that guy. the kids, right? >> He's a driver of the car. We had to pull him away. >> Is my Is my woman okay? >> I don't know. We just We just rolled up here. Man, I'm not even going to lie to you guys. Like, I do not have my license. I'm going to be 100% truthful with you. Like, my babies are That's everything I got, man. Hear me? You're everything I got. Can you please I try to help you? >> I got you. >> Tell you what, man. >> I literally just got this car. You know what I mean? >> Yeah. Have you have a seat in the back of my car real quick? >> That's fine, man. I ain't got a problem. I ain't got a problem with that. >> No, no. Have you have back until we get everything settled down? Okay. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I I don't know. I know how I got off the car. There you go. >> How did I get off the car? I don't know, buddy. I've seen hair, man. It's cool there. Okay. Just calm down for me. Thank you. Yes, sir. >> Please do everything you can, please. Absolutely. >> Hey, listen. And uh >> Oh my god. He works at the bureau. His name's Nick Hopus. That's who his the her ex-husband is. And that's the kid's father. And I just want you to know that he's tripping me out. >> This gentleman saw the whole thing. >> Okay. >> And you can call and I was building my apartment here after we got back from Barlos and Okay. We was just getting ready to run some facial boards. Buddy, >> I just rolled up here. Just one car. Was it just one car? >> No, this truck and camper. >> Okay. Right here. Okay. No, you're fine. >> I'll help you with your report myself. >> Okay. >> We saw what happened. We heard the tire scream >> and and I was able to turn around. >> Okay. >> Let me uh grab some paperwork. I'll have you I'll have you start writing out a statement. >> Have you start writing out a statement for me? Okay. >> Yep. And uh this Cavalier man got over in the southbound lane. I don't know if he went to pass a car and saw the truck and or if he just wasn't paying attention and got over in the oncoming lane. Anyway, he went to correct it and swerve back to the right to the northbound lane. Damn car broke sideways and it pretty much spun around and that truck and camper hit the back of that car. Smash three kids and wife. about what I need you to do for me real quick with the state patrol. Josh officer Louis >> give all you can go wherever you need to go ride if you want to sit in your truck or whatever. I need you to print your name right here >> by the second X and what you saw. Okay. And then down here at the bottom put your address and your signature right there. >> I'm sorry. Address right here and signature. >> Okay. Hey Bob, right here >> right here. Hang on. I'm trying to answer you. You there bud? >> Yeah, right here. Put your name. You tell me what happened. Your address and your signature back. There you go, buddy. >> Calm down, man. I'll be back in a second. I need a drink. >> He did a 180 and ended up in this lane. Okay. So, he slid over into this lane. You know that they said they said the corner is coming to one of them. >> That's why Danny just told me. Yeah. He said corner's coming for that one. Yeah. >> George Frank Adams 619. >> That's 439's here. >> Okay. >> All right. So, I got >> we got a witness saying that >> I need a very good station from him. Whoever I heard started one from this guy over here. >> He started one, but the other guy sound like he knew he saw something, too. >> The guy in the record is the one hauling this. He's the one that said he seen the car lock up, slide over, and get hit. Where were they? I have no here. >> Okay. Repeat your last signal and just give me a cut on glass, too. >> That one kid's bleeding all over the place. He's all >> over the driver. My car. >> I don't even know what happened. got hit and rescue on the scene, >> but he looked like he got >> I'm assuming that truck hit the Cavalier. >> Yeah, >> they said the Cavalere I thought went to pass or something. >> I don't know. It sound like 30 corner way out here. They are >> I was doing CPR with two other kids. Forensic specialists later confirmed that one of the brake lines had been manually disconnected, forcing Smith to rely solely on the handbrake. The corroded part shows signs of tampering. A witness later tells investigators that Smith had admitted the car hadn't been breaking right for weeks. Meanwhile, the phone recovered from the vehicle reveals messages sent days earlier to contacts in Pikton and Portsouth offering perk tens and Vikes, street names for per and his browser history includes the phrase, "Can you drive high on pain pills?" These findings directly link Smith's substance use to ongoing opioid distribution activity. At this point, prosecutors conclude that Smith didn't just drive while high. He did so with full awareness of the danger. The technical and digital evidence together support a single narrative. This was not an unavoidable accident, but the foreseeable result of deliberate choices. >> All right. Um, we have all of your information. Okay. Are you injured? >> Uh, my shoulder hurts, my elbow hurts, >> seat belt pretty pretty well up. >> Okay. Uh, is anybody else in there with you? >> Not in the truck. No. >> Nobody in the camper either? >> No. No one's in the camera. Do you want me to open it up for you? >> Single occupant. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Let's go ahead and open it up just to >> that way I can cover cover all my grounds. Hey, are are you free? >> Kind of. >> Okay. I I want to make sure that he gets looked at. He's complaining of this. No, you're fine. They just like in just a few minutes. Catch your breath. Okay. >> I have to >> leave cuz I'm with them. I don't have a partner even. He need transported. I couldn't do anything. >> Okay. Well, I we'll get somebody else. Okay, let's open up this this camper trailer and take a look at it. >> It's going to be a little pipe. >> I'm going to open up some information in it and I'll upload it so you can download. >> Okay. [ __ ] everywhere. >> No, you're you're good. >> So, there is a bedroom right here. >> Okay. You giving you granting me permission? >> Go right on ahead. I ain't hiding nothing, sir. uh bedroom in there and in the back here refrigerator. Then the next door you can see on your left is a bathroom. Then behind in there is a uh bunk house which you can look we're going to look in. I'm going to I'm going to jump right there where you're trying to get my have him come over and that way you can cross check everything but I don't have a clue. >> I don't have a clue what happened. Setting up landing zone at 3014. >> Anybody start pictures yet? >> I have. >> I don't even know what happened, dude. A couple cars. like [ __ ] pushed down and locked him up around backwards in the other lane. >> Got hit in the rear basically tried to come over too quick. Got sideways. >> Yeah, spun around pushed back and pushed this way. I don't know what this he's told me about four times he does not have a driver's license. You keep telling us sir this guy this guy in my car he's a driver this one. >> Okay. So this guy right here he got passed in the suicide watch. Yeah, he's getting a statement. He's saying he passed through here and actually started skidding and rotated around the rear. He came over. >> Yeah, he's told me about four times he doesn't have a driver's license. I said, I know you told me. I said, you need to check him. I mean, he's >> Yeah, I'm He keeps repeating himself. >> I'm going to try to let him cool out for a minute. >> Well, I gave him some Gatorade. >> I need I need him to be like completely mellow before I convert them off cuz I got >> Yeah, he's uh he was real hysterical when I got here. And then >> did you get his information? >> Like the four of them was like No. >> Yeah, we had to lift the front seat passenger out. >> You good? I got you. >> So, who's handling this? >> You just wait off the whole thing. I want the whole thing. >> Yeah. >> Probably go down there. Slate run. >> Whoever was here for top, they're in a >> They were in a full >> fluorescent. They said we can use their part. >> Do you get an idea what happened? >> I'd have them turn down there at Slate Run right there at that where there's big that big turnaround. and I'll go forward or wherever the heck I got to go. >> That's fine. Just keep him in there. Let him cool off. My understanding is this guy was coming this way, went to pass a couple cars, sw back over, lost control, end up spinning around, going backwards, and this guy hit him. >> This guy southbound. >> Yeah, this guy was coming southbound. >> We locked up here. >> They said he came over and spun >> and came over and hit this. See where his up there? Push him back. >> Yeah, >> just got >> I'm just trying to find someone to check that way. >> I was just going to say I'm trying to get everybody this way so Williams can map everything off the flight and do all this while we're waiting. I'll get mine back out, too. >> I still got old dude in my car. >> That's fine. Keep him in there. >> Oh my god. >> You good, bud? >> A little bit. Turn his air on a little bit higher. >> The final reconstruction confirms the full extent of the case. Forensic tests verify high and ox use and the digital evidence ties Smith to local opioid trafficking. Based on this, prosecutor Shane Thyman files charges of murder with knowing intent, an uncommon but precedent setting decision in cases involving driving. In July of 2025, after a 3-day bench trial before Judge Mark E. [ __ ] Gage A. Smith would be found guilty of four counts of murder and 33 additional offenses, including aggravated trafficking and child end. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 60 years, meaning he won't be eligible for release until he's at least 82 years old. Today, the case remains a turning point for Sciota County, a region still battling the opioid epidemic that fueled this tragedy. The record of the state of Ohio versus Gay J. Smith stands not only as documentation of a fatal crash, but as a reminder of how addiction, poverty, and negligence can intersect on a single road and destroy everything in their path.