ROSS COUNTY, Ohio — The family of a Circleville man killed in a fiery head-on crash involving an Ohio State Highway Patrol cruiser is speaking out, describing their heartbreak and asking for answers.

Harold R. Smith Jr., 45, died Tuesday morning in Union Township, Ross County, after his pickup truck collided with a highway patrol vehicle. His sister, Angel Ater, remembers him as a kind soul with a giving heart.

“He always called me his baby little sister,” she said. “We want to remember my brother for the way he was: a kind, loving man. He loves helping people.”

Smith’s mother, Patricia Ater, said the shock has been overwhelming.

“The calls just kept coming and coming and coming at me and I’m just like, this can’t be true,” she said through tears. “Now I’m wearing a shirt with his name

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