DAYTON, Ohio —

More than four years after a family from Mason was killed in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 75, the woman accused of killing them is on trial.

Abby Michaels, 25, of Xenia, faces six counts of murder and three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide. Last Friday, three additional counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and an OVI charge were dismissed.

On March 17, 2019, prosecutors said Michaels intentionally drove the wrong way on the interstate and crashed into another car killing Timmy Thompson, 51, his wife Karen Thompson, 50 and their 10-year-old daughter Tessa.

The Thompsons were on their way home to Mason after visiting family when they were hit head-on.

"By nightfall, that living family was no longer alive," assistant Montgomery County prosecutor Bryan Moore said in his opening statement.

Prosecutors said other drivers saw Michaels' car drive through an emergency turn-around and head north in the southbound lanes.

"And they watch in horror as that vehicle collides with the Thompson vehicle. That vehicle is being driven, controlled by Abby Michaels," Moore said.

Defense attorney Jay Adams called what happened tragic but said there is more to the story.

"This issue is whether or not Abby Michaels acted knowingly. That's the whole case," Adams said.

Adams said Michaels had suffered for years from a seizure disorder.

"At the end of this, Abby Michaels was involved in a tragic event with the Thompson family. That is very sad, but she didn't murder anybody. She suffered from a medical condition," Adams said.

One of the first people to testify Monday was Michaels' husband at the time of the crash, Kyle Pastorelle. He had filed for divorce two days prior and was not with Michaels that night.

Prosecutors showed surveillance footage of Michaels wearing a festive, green and white St. Patrick's Day hat at Ron's Pizza in Miamisburg.

Prosecutors pointed her out in the video leaving the restaurant at 7:43 p.m. that night.

Eleven minutes later, Pastorelle said Michaels called him asking to come over.

"I was pretty adamant on 'No, we're not doing this. It's not going to happen,' and that's when she told me that — she was driving at the time — and that's when she told me she was going to drive backwards on 75," Pastorelle said.

Pastorelle said Michaels sent him a text message a few minutes later and said, "Goodbye. I love you. I'm dying now."

By 8:10 p.m., Moraine police were dispatched to the deadly crash.

During cross-examination, Pastorelle testified to Michaels' medical issues.

"You were asked about seizures and whether you've actually seen any in the seven years. You know she's had them, correct?" Adams asked.

Pastorelle said, "Yeah."

Adams asked, "You know she's been hospitalized for them, correct?"

"Yes," Pastorelle answered.

The bench trial is expected to last most of the week.

A mother and veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan said she had to do something she never dreamed of.

While stuck in traffic on Interstate 10 in New Orleans, she said someone tried to get in her car.

So, her training kicked in and she pulled out a gun.

Charise Taylor said the incident happened while her 2-year-old son was in the car.

"You shouldn't have to navigate your own city like a war zone. It's un-American,” Taylor said. “The crime is out of control and it's terrifying. At this point, having to use the same tactics in an American city that you use in Iraq and Afghanistan simply to navigate through the city it's scary and I'm not the only mom feeling this way."

Taylor said she was headed to pick up her husband on Friday.

She said she was stuck in gridlock traffic when a group in a truck motioned to her to get over.

So, she let them. Next thing she knows a man comes up to her passenger door.

"So, as he comes up he's close and he's pretty aggressive trying to get the car door open makes eye contact with me he's still trying to get it open a couple times," Taylor said.

Taylor said she picked up her gun.

“It’s locked and loaded," she recalled saying.

Watch the video above for the full story.

Three people were killed after a wrong-way crash early Monday morning on Interstate 65 in southern Indiana, investigators said.

The crash was reported around 12:30 a.m. Monday on the interstate in southern Jackson County, according to Indiana State Police.

Investigators have since determined that 25-year-old Kaitlyn N. Schindler, of Marysville, was driving southbound in the northbound lanes of I-65 near the 39 mile-marker. State police have not determined what caused Schindler to drive the wrong way.

Schindler's 2019 Jeep Compass struck a gray 2015 Dodge Durango, driven by 26-year-old Chelsea Jo Boston, of Columbus, head-on in the northbound lanes.

Schindler and Boston died from their injuries in the crash, state police said.

Also in Boston's car were 21-year-old Tapanga Eudy, of Columbus, and Dai Von T. Coram, also of Columbus. Eudy was in the back seat and died at the scene.

Coram was air-lifted to UofL Hospital, where she has since been released.

Detectives said it's unknown if alcohol and/or drugs played a role in the crash. Toxicology results are pending and the crash remains under investigation.

Officials said the families of all those who died have been notified.

The crash site was closed for hours Monday as state police investigated.

Additional details were not released.

Nine men are in custody in connection with a standoff between law enforcement and a group of armed individuals on Interstate 95 in Massachusetts, according to state police officials.

The standoff between police and the group of armed men has caused the closure of a part of I-95. The situation has also led to a shelter-in-place order for parts of nearby communities.

The situation began when a Massachusetts State Police trooper spotted two vehicles in the breakdown lane with their hazard lights activated on I-95 north at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday and stopped to offer assistance, according to MSP Superintendent Col. Christopher Mason.

Mason said the trooper observed the group of eight to 10 men trying to refuel a vehicle and saw they were wearing tactical-style gear. They were armed with a combination of rifles and pistols.

The trooper asked the men for identification and firearms licenses and when the men said they did not have them available, the trooper called for backup, according to Mason.

A group calling themselves "Moorish American Arms" posted a video on Instagram overnight showing armed members blocking the highway.

"At some point during this interaction, a number of those individuals alight into the woodline with their firearms. A perimeter was quickly established," Mason said.

"No threats were made, but these men should be considered armed and dangerous. We are asking residents in these areas to lock their doors and remain inside their homes. A heavy police presence will be in this area as well," the Wakefield Police Department wrote in a statement.

The interstate was closed in both directions between Lynnfield and Stoneham because of the standoff.

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"They are refusing to comply with orders to provide their information and put down their weapons," said Massachusetts State Police spokesperson David Procopio.

Two people were seen being taken into custody on North Avenue during a live report on sister station WCVB at approximately 6:10 a.m. Reporter Josh Brogadir said the men, who were wearing fatigues, were walking near a staging area.

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"While we were standing in that area, we saw some officers start to run. They came over here and they took these two guys into custody," Brogadir reported.

Procopio later confirmed the arrests and said the situation was continuing with the remaining members of the group.

At about 10:30 a.m., about nine hours after the incident began, Procopio confirmed that the remaining seven suspects had been taken into custody by the MSP Special Tactical Operations Team.

Procopio said state police would conduct sweeps of both the group's vehicles and the nearby wooded areas.

In Massachusetts, Interstate 95 runs from the Rhode Island line, around Boston to the New Hampshire line. Wakefield is just east of where Interstate 95 and 93 meet north of Boston.

Authorities say people in some areas nearby were being advised to shelter in place during the incident. Police in other areas advised residents to use caution and avoid areas of town near Interstate 95.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CINCINNATI —

Two people are dead following a fiery crash involving two semi-trucks on Interstate 75 in Cincinnati Friday afternoon.

It happened around 3 p.m. Friday in the northbound lanes of Interstate 75, near Hopple Street and the Interstate 74 exit.

According to officials with the Cincinnati Police Department, a southbound semi-truck lost control, and crashed through a concrete barrier and into the northbound lanes.

That semi-truck then struck a northbound semi-truck head-on, with the southbound truck catching fire.

Two people inside of the southbound semi-truck – the driver and a passenger – were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the northbound truck was treated at the scene by the Cincinnati Fire Department.

Northbound lanes of Interstate 75 will likely be closed through midnight following as Ohio Department of Transportation officials work to repair the concrete barrier.

The names of those involved have not been released. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa —

A man pulled two people from a fiery crash on Interstate 80 Tuesday morning in Iowa.

Those people are recovering in the hospital.

Runk Wood says he's not a hero, but just did what he had to do.

"You can't be scared to help people," Wood said.

He proved that, during his drive to work from Avoca, Iowa to Lincoln.

"As I got closer to it, I could tell that the car was burning. The fire got pretty big," Wood said.

He saw the horrific scene near Interstate 80 and McPherson Avenue in Council Bluffs.

Council Bluffs Police say the car was stopped in the middle of the interstate when a truck hit it. The car hit a barricade and caught fire.

"A lot of people were driving by. I didn't see a whole lot of brake lights, which kind of touches my heart, where we live in a society where you see a car burning in the median, you don't stop," Wood said.

But Wood did stop.

"I could hear the girl screaming and nobody was getting near the car and it was just a reaction of I'm not going to stand here and listen to somebody burn up in the car so I just went for it," he said.

He says he pulled the driver to safety first.

"Got her about 20 feet away from the car. Then she was talking to me, I couldn't understand what she was saying. But she kept pointing at the car," Wood said.

That's when he realized there was someone else in the car, so he rescued that person too.

"My hands are a little red. The right side of my face is a little tender from the heat, from the fire," Wood said.

Wood is happy he was there to help but he insists: "I don't want the hero title. I'm just a simple man that was headed to work and chose to stop and help somebody."