> Judge reads verdict in trial for semitruck driver charged in fatal I-70 crash — live coverage
Judge reads verdict in trial for semitruck driver charged in fatal I-70 crash — live coverage
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Description
A Licking County judge will read a verdict Friday in the trial of a semitruck driver charged in the 2023 fatal crash that killed six people, including three students.
The verdict will be read by Judge David Branstool in the Licking County Court of Common Pleas at 1 p.m. Watch live coverage on 10TV+ starting at 12:55 p.m.
Jacob McDonald was charged with a total of 26 counts, including six counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, after the crash on Interstate 70 near state Route 310 in November 2023. He's also charged with nine counts of vehicular assault and 11 counts of assault.
If Branstool finds McDonald guilty, there will have to be a pre-sentence investigation. Sentencing would be scheduled for a later date.
What happened on Nov. 14, 2023?
On Nov. 14, 2023, 54 students and three chaperones from the Tuscarawas Valley Local School District were on their way to Columbus for a band conference where they were supposed to perform.
The accident occurred shortly before 9 a.m. on I-70 West in Licking County, near the Smoke Road underpass and about 26 miles east of Columbus.
Five vehicles were involved in the fiery crash, including the Pioneer Trails charter bus that was transporting the students and chaperones from Tuscarawas Valley.
According to an incident report by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, McDonald was driving a semitruck at 70 mph and did not slow down. He drove over a vehicle and then slammed into the bus.
Three students on the bus were killed, including 18-year-old John Mosely, 15-year-old Katelyn Owens, and 18-year-old Jeffery Worrell. A teacher and two other chaperones also died, including 56-year-old Dave Kennat, 39-year-old Kristy Gaynor and 45-year-old Shannon Wigfield.
More than a dozen people were also injured in the crash. The injured were treated at seven hospitals.
The crash report from OSHP says McDonald did not have any alcohol or drugs in his system at the time of the crash.
McDonald was indicted and booked into the Licking County jail in July 2024, where he has been since the crash, on a $1 million bond.