An elderly woman is dead and three others hospitalized following a car crash on Highway 81 near Columbus.

The Nebraska State Patrol says 71-year-old Carol Morrill of Creighton died when the minivan she was riding in turned into the path of a semi-trailer on Highway 81, about seven miles south of Columbus.

The 83-year-old driver of the van, Dale Morrill, was taken to an Omaha hospital in critical condition. Two passengers in the van also were injured, with one being flown by medical helicopter to an Omaha hospital. The other was treated at a Columbus hospital.

The semi driver was not injured.