Two 6-year-old boys were flown to Akron Children’s Hospital after a serious head-on collision killed a 29-year-old woman and injured another driver Monday morning in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. The crash happened on Edwards Ridge Road in Rush Township and involved two vehicles carrying young children.
The woman who died was identified as Megan Mazzoleni of Gnadenhutten, Ohio. She was driving a 2014 Ford Focus southbound shortly before 8 a.m. on November 2, 2026. A 6-year-old boy was riding in the back seat of her vehicle.
A 2020 Kia Telluride was traveling in the opposite direction. It was driven by 43-year-old Shanon Matsel of Port Washington, Ohio, who also had a 6-year-old boy in the back seat. The vehicles approached each other on Edwards Ridge Road, south of Ridge Road.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ford Focus traveled left of center and struck the Kia Telluride head-on. The collision happened at approximately 7:52 a.m. and left both drivers trapped inside their vehicles.
Emergency crews had to use mechanical equipment to remove both drivers from the wreckage. Mazzoleni, who was not wearing a seat belt, suffered fatal injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene by the Tuscarawas County Coroner’s Office.
Matsel was wearing a seat belt when the crash occurred. After being freed from the Kia, she was transported by emergency medical personnel to Union Hospital. Her condition was not immediately known.
The two boys were also taken from the scene for urgent medical care. Given the seriousness of the situation, medical helicopters transported both children to Akron Children’s Hospital. Authorities had not released details about the extent of their injuries.
The collision has raised painful questions for the families involved, particularly with two young children among those caught in the crash. Both boys were passengers in vehicles traveling in opposite directions when the impact occurred.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said drugs and alcohol are not suspected to have contributed to the crash. Investigators are still working to establish the circumstances that caused the Ford Focus to cross left of center.
For one family, Monday’s crash ended in the loss of a loved one. For another, it brought a trip to the hospital and uncertainty over the condition of a child. The investigation remains ongoing as the families await further answers.
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