Update on I-70 bus crash at Ohio Rt. 310
Update on I-70 bus crash at Ohio Rt. 310; Ohio Highway Patrol Lt. Nate Dennis and Gov. Mike DeWine speak
ETNA – The Ohio Highway Patrol has identified the six people killed in a fiery crash Tuesday that involved a charter bus, a tractor-trailer, another commercial vehicle, and two passenger vehicles on Interstate 70 westbound in Licking County, about a half-mile before the Route 310 Etna interchange.
The deceased include three students on a charter bus: John W. Mosely, 18, and Katelyn N. Owens, 15, both of Mineral City; and Jeffery D. Worrell, 18, of Bolivar.
The other three killed were a teacher and two chaperones who were accompanying the students in one of the two passenger vehicles involved in the crash. Those dead are: Dave Kennat, 56, of Navarre; Kristy Gaynor, 39, of Zoar; and Shannon Wigfield, 45, of Bolivar.
A total of 15 students and the bus driver were transported to area hospitals. The remaining students were taken to a reunification site in Etna Township.
The Ohio HIghway Patrol Granville Post said the crash occurred at 8:52 a.m. on I-70 west about a half-mile before the Route 310 exit. All the vehicles were traveling west when a chain-reaction crash occurred, and at least three of the vehicles caught fire as a result of the crash, the patrol said.
The charter bus was occupied by a driver and 54 students and chaperones from Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools. Besides the three students killed on the bus, 15 other students and the bus driver were transported to area hospitals. The remaining students were taken to a reunification site in Etna Township.
Of the two commercial vehicles involved, the driver of a semi that appeared to have struck the rear of the bus was transported to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, Downtown, with non-life-threatening injuries. The other driver was treated and released at the scene, the patrol said.
In addition, the patrol said the driver of the second passenger vehicle was also transported to an area hospital.
The National Transportation Safety Board will join the Highway Patrol in the investigation into the crash. The injured were taken to numerous area hospitals. Of those reporting receiving injured, OhioHealth reported treated five for minor injuries. Four were taken to Mount Carmel East, one of whom was transferred to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Mount Carmel Reynoldsburg treated and released three.
Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools, an Ohio school district in Zoarville, said late Tuesday morning that the bus was carrying students, teachers and chaperones, on their way to the last day of the Ohio School Boards Association conference and that there may have been some “serious injuries” among those on board.
By 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, dozens of emergency personnel from across Licking County and eastern Franklin County had responded to the crash area on I-70 and area hospitals had been placed on alert for what dispatchers were calling a “mass casualty” incident.
I-70 reopens as authorities continue to investigate crash
During a Tuesday morning news conference at a rest stop on I-70, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said his prayers go out to all involved in the crash and their families.
“This is our worst nightmare when we have a bus full of children involved in a crash and certainly the worst nightmare families can endure or a school can endure, DeWine said.
Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Nate Dennis said the crash involved five vehicles, and 18 injured people were taken from the bus.
Ohio Department of Transportation spokesperson Matt Bruning said to expect a lengthy closure of I-70 in both directions while the investigation into the crash is underway.
Bus Crash: afternoon update Tuesday 3 pm
Bus Crash: Update Tuesday afternoon from Gov. DeWine, Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Nate Dennis speak
DeWine spoke to media again about 2:30 p.m., saying he visited the reunification center where he spoke with at least one mother picking up her child and other students and expressed his sympathies. DeWine ordered flags be flown at half-staff in Tuscarawas County, where the school students were from, and at the Statehouse.He said the investigation into the crash will take some time, which Dennis confirmed.In addition, Bruning said I-70 pavement repairs will be needed to westbound lanes on I-70 where the crash occurred because of the fire that resulted and its impact on the pavement. A construction crew is standing by to make those repairs as quickly as possible, but there was no immediate timetable available for that work.
As of about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, eastbound lanes of I-70 had reopened. Motorists were urged to not slow down to take pictures or video and to keep traffic moving to prevent another crash.
‘Sick to my stomach’: Tuscarawas Valley school students, chaperones on bus
Tuscarawas Valley Superintendent Derek Varansky said on Facebook that “a charter bus carrying Tusky Valley students and chaperones on the way to the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) conference in Columbus was involved in a very serious accident.
“We understand from law enforcement that there may be multiple serious injuries and we are working to learn the details,” Varansky wrote. “Right now, our focus is on getting in touch with our Tusky Valley families who had loved ones on the bus and providing support to our entire school community.”
Varansky said some of the students on the bus were band members who were going to perform at the OSBA conference.
On Tuesday night, Varansky said “school WILL be in session tomorrow, but it will not be a normal day.”
A steady stream of vehicles pulled into the Tuscarawas Valley Middle-High School parking lot Tuesday morning, as parents came to pick up their grief-stricken children. Staff members came to the vehicles, conferred with the drivers and then went back into the school to retrieve their children.
“I’m sick. I’m sick to my stomach,” parent Laurie Fragasse said when she picked up her daughter, Camrynn, just before noon.
Camrynn, an eighth grader, said she was scared and sad.
“I don’t really know how to feel right now,” she said.
Ohio School Boards Association conference in Columbus canceled in light of tragedy
The students were headed to the the Ohio School Board Association annual convention held in Columbus. The event, which began Sunday and was to end Tuesday, features speakers, a trade show and a student success exposition, according to the OSBA website. The event was canceled Tuesday, an association spokesperson said.
“Given this devastating news, we have canceled (the remainder of) our conference,” an association statement read. “Right now, our focus is on providing support to Tuscarawas Valley. That includes making grief counselors from our trade show available.”
Tusky Valley families reunified at Etna reunification site
By 2 p.m., almost all of the students not transported to the hospital had been reunified with their students at the Etna United Methodist Church. In total, 34 students were taken there after the crash, said Don Hawkins, regional communications manager for the Red Cross of Central and Southern Ohio, which Licking County Emergency Management contacted for help.
“Whenever something like this happens, we work with local EMA to assist them,” Hawkins said.
Mount Carmel East hospital, a Level 2 trauma center on Columbus’ Far East Side, also requested and received 30 extra units of blood, he added.
“It’s heavy; it’s really heavy. It really hurts to see this happen to anyone, to kids … especially at the holiday season,” Hawkins said. “Families are going to be devastated. Our hearts go out to them. Three families are going to feel that forever. It hurts.”
Shortly before 2 p.m., a Central Ohio Transit Authority bus arrived at the church with band equipment that had been on the charter bus involved in the crash. At that time, only 13 of what at one time had been as many as 37 students had been picked up by their parents, Licking County EMA Director Sean Grady said.
Map of the crash site
Medic squads took victims from the crash to at least seven area hospitals, including Licking Memorial Hospital in Newark, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, OhioHealth Grant Medical Center and Mount Carmel East hospital in Columbus, and OhioHealth Pickerington Methodist hospital.
The bus involved in the crash is from Pioneer Trails, a family-owned bus business based in Millersburg in Holmes County that has been in business for more than 40 years. In a statement on Facebook, Pioneer Trails said it “is fully cooperating with the authorities as we work to find the cause of the accident” and sends prayers to the victims and their families.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation inspections, the company has had one other crash involving an injury in the last 24 months. The company received a satisfactory rating, meaning records indicate no evidence of substantial noncompliance with safety requirements.
Mid State Systems, based in Hebron, Licking County, is the owner of the tractor-trailer involved in the crash. The company hauls general freight, paper and chemicals. U.S. Department of Transportation records show no incidents involving the firm going back to 2017. Company officials could not be reached by The Dispatch for comment.
Dispatchers classified the incident as a “mass casualty incident, level 3,” which indicates 10 or more people may have been injured and there was a need for paramedics, fire crews and hospital readiness across the region. Casualty does not necessarily mean fatalities in the way it is used by dispatchers.
USA TODAY Network Ohio reporters Maria DeVito, Kent Mallett, Pam James and Nancy Molnar contributed to this report.
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
