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(WTRF) — The National Transportation Safety Board has released new information regarding the November 2023 crash that resulted in the deaths of six people, including three students from Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools.
According to the Times Reporter, the details released on Wednesday indicate that the tractor-trailer driver had previously been pulled over while a video game was open on his phone.
Preliminary crash reports from the NTSB reveal that the chain-reaction accident took place at 8:47 a.m. on Nov. 14, 2023, on westbound Interstate 70 in Licking County. The driver of the tractor-trailer, Jacob McDonald, struck an SUV in front of him, drove over it, and then collided with the rear of a charter bus.
The charter bus was transporting 54 students and chaperones from the Tuscarawas Valley Middle-High School band to Columbus for a performance at a conference. The impact of the crash caused the bus to collide with another SUV and a commercial truck.
Six people died in the incident, and 20 others suffered injuries. Among those killed were three Tuscarawas Valley Middle-High School students: 18-year-old John Mosley, 18-year-old Jeffrey Worrell, and 15-year-old Katelyn Owens. The other three victims were chaperones: Dave Kennat, 56; Kristy Gaynor, 39; and Shannon Wigfield, 46.
According to NTSB documents, McDonald began his driving shift in Zanesville, logging in to start his route about an hour before the crash. He was transporting 12 pallets of batteries for Honda cars, and the estimated weight of the tractor-trailer was about 16,000 pounds.
Data collected from the tractor-trailer indicated that McDonald was traveling at 74.7 mph less than two miles east of the crash site and about one minute before the impact was reported. The speed limit in that area is 70 mph.
The Times-Reporter noted that the crash destroyed McDonald’s Samsung phone; however, NTSB investigators recovered data indicating a usage peak of 39.8 megabytes per minute just 10 minutes before the collision.
The NTSB report stated that it could not definitively conclude whether McDonald was using his phone, as they lacked access to his device. However, a phone company cited that streaming high-definition video consumes approximately 41.7 megabytes of data per minute.
At the time of the crash, the Nissan Murano SUV occupied by Wigfield, Gaynor and Kennat had its brakes activated and slowed from 24 mph about five seconds before the impact to 16 mph half-a-second before being struck.
NTSB documents also noted that a crash occurring about 30 minutes earlier had slowed traffic on the interstate. Data from the charter bus revealed that it also slowed down just minutes before the accident.
According to the Times Reporter, investigators secured a video from a tractor-trailer that was positioned behind the crash scene, which did not show any conclusive evidence of McDonald using his emergency brakes to slow down.
Additional information released by the NTSB revealed McDonald’s history of traffic violations for speeding. In March 2022, he was pulled over in Indiana for driving 75 mph in a 60 mph zone. The officer reported that McDonald’s phone was open to a video game, but could not confirm if he was playing it at the time. In May of that year, he was stopped in Ohio after weaving in and out of traffic. During that incident, it was found that McDonald had been on duty for 15 hours, exceeding the 14-hour federal limit for commercial truck drivers.
NTSB investigators learned that McDonald’s employer required the use of hands-free devices while driving and prohibited drivers from holding cell phones.
The Times Reporter reports that at least four lawsuits have been filed against multiple companies and individuals, including McDonald and Mid State Systems, alleging they failed to implement adequate safety measures that might have prevented the crash.
A final report from the NTSB is anticipated to take between 12 and 24 months to complete.
Currently, McDonald is being held at the Licking County Justice Center, facing 26 criminal charges, including six counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, nine counts of vehicular assault, and 11 counts of assault.