‘It was just a roar;’ Licking Co. residents explain what they heard during deadly bus crash

LICKING COUNTY — Six people lost their lives after a five-vehicle crash occurred Tuesday morning on I-70, east of Columbus.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 3 students, 3 others dead after fiery bus crash in Licking County

News Center 7′s Mike Campbell was the only reporter from Dayton in Licking County reporting on this tragedy.

Over 50 students and chaperones were on a charter bus traveling to a convention when they were involved in the crash. The students are from Tuscarawas County and attend the Tuscarawas Valley High School.

I-70 westbound has been closed ever since the crash happened and reconstruction teams are working to learn how this tragedy unfolded.

Licking County residents told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that they had never seen anything like this.

“There were a lot of sirens, from every direction,” Katherine Henning said.

Henning lives a quarter mile from I-70 and the crash scene. She said even when the sirens stopped, she knew whatever was going on was close to her home as the sound didn’t let up.

“And it was just a roar, the helicopters and everything else,” Henning said.

News Center 7′s Mike Campbell reported LIVE from Licking County at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. where he broke down the latest details.

Henning said she started listening to a police scanner and what she heard broke her heart.

At the time, there were reports of three people dead on scene and at least 18 more were being rushed to seven different hospitals.

>> PHOTOS: At least 6 killed, over a dozen injured in fiery I-70 crash in Ohio

“I don’t know how many departments are around us, but I would say every single one of them was there,” Henning said.

News Center 7 flew Sky 7 above the crash to get a better understanding of how many emergency services were responding.

State troopers said 18 people were taken to hospitals from the charter bus, and 15 of them were students.

Troopers called the scale of the crash massive. Around 7 p.m., the identities were released of the six people who passed away.

Three students onboard the charter bus passed away on scene. Those include John W. Mosely, 18, of Mineral City, Jeffery D. Worrell, 18, of Bolivar, and Katelyn N. Owens, 15, of Mineral City.

Three adults traveling in a separate vehicle also passed away at the crash site. Those are Dave Kennat, 56, of Navarre, Kristy Gaynor, 39, of Zoar, and Shannon Wigfield, 45, of Bolivar.

“There was a fire after the crash occurred, we’re trying to figure out what caused that,” Ohio State Highway Patrol Lieutenant Nate Davis said.

“It was…It pulled at my mom heart,” Henning said.

Henning said this tragedy is tough for anyone to think about, especially parents of students.

“You send your kids off to have a great day, they’re excited to go and then something terrible happens, you know, you just never know,” Henning said.

News Center 7′s Mike Campbell reported that traffic in the eastbound lanes of I-70 began moving around 4:30 p.m.

A spokesperson from the Ohio Department of Transportation said that even when the scene is cleared, the westbound lanes will remain closed as there is damage caused by the intense heat of the fire.

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