CLARK COUNTY — A court hearing for the man involved in a deadly school bus crash has been continued to a later date.
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Hermanio Joseph, 35, was scheduled to appear in Clark County Common Pleas Court Monday morning for a pre-trial hearing. News Center 7 was there when his hearing was continued and learned it was because of a scheduling conflict with the translator.
A new date for Joseph’s hearing hasn’t been determined.
Joseph is facing vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter charges. The charges stem from the deadly crash involving a van and a Northwestern Local School bus on Aug. 22.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Joseph was driving a Honda Odyssey that crossed left of center on state Route 41 (Troy Road), near Lawrenceville Road, and hit the bus.
The bus, driven by 68-year-old Alfred Gene Collier, also of Springfield, then traveled off the right side of the roadway, down an embankment, and overturned.
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Aiden Clark, 11, was killed in the crash.
As many as 26 other children on the bus suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to area hospitals. One of them suffered serious, life-threatening injuries and was taken to Children’s Hospital in Dayton. Collier suffered minor injuries but was not taken to a hospital.
Joseph did not have a valid driver’s license when the crash happened.
News Center 7 previously reported Joseph’s attorney filed a motion Thursday for a change in venue, according to Clark County Common Pleas Court.
The request was made “in order to ensure [Joseph] receives a fair trial before a jury untainted by pre-trial publicity,” court records stated.
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His attorney argued that the “ongoing pre-trial publicity and media saturation” would make it “impossible to seat an impartial jury” in Clark County.
A judge still has to issue a ruling on the request to change the venue. Typically, a decision on this kind of motion would not be made until jury selection begins.
We’ll provide updates as we learn more.
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