LICKING COUNTY, Ohio — The National Transportation Safety Board has released new documents regarding the deadly bus crash on Interstate 70 in Licking County last year that killed six people and injured 18 others.
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The crash happened on the morning of November 14, 2023, on I-70 about 26 miles east of Columbus. Three of the six people killed were students in the Tuscarawas Valley Local School District.
The driver of the semi who plowed into the back of a charter bus and several other vehicles, 61-year-old Jacob McDonald, has been indicted on 26 charges, including six counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, our news partners WBNS-10 TV reported.
According to the documents released by NTSB, McDonald was not impaired by drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash. He was reportedly taking medicine for diabetes and blood pressure, but investigators determined that those did not impair him.
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The report also shows that he was traveling 74 miles per hour in a 70 mph zone less than two miles before the crash.
According to investigators, data usage from McDonald’s phone shows a peak of 39.8 megabytes per minute, roughly 10 minutes before the crash. The report compares that peak to someone streaming high-definition videos, which uses 41.7 megabytes per minute.
However, data information at the time couldn’t be retrieved since the phone was destroyed in the crash. It is unclear if McDonald was watching a video or if his phone was going through an automatic update.
McDonald reportedly told Ohio State Highway Troopers and investigators that he did not remember the moments leading to the crash. He remembered leaving his house that morning and then seeing his truck on fire, but nothing before the crash.
He was reportedly delivering about 16,000 pounds worth of Honda batteries to Marysville. The report also shows McDonald has nine prior traffic violations from 2003 to 2022, but has no history of license suspensions or a reported crash history.
Five of the nine citations were related to speed, while two others were for following too closely. In March 2022, authorities stopped McDonald for going 75 mph in a 60 mph zone, according to the report.
McDonald reported had his cell phone out and a video game was loaded and visible when authorities approached.
Investigators also interviewed the driver of the Charter bus transporting the Tuscarawas Valley High School Marching Band after a school trip.
The driver said he was slowing down for traffic in front of him. Previous reports from the OSHP said traffic on the interstate was slowing down for a crash.
The driver said he felt a big hit in the back of the bus, as well as his left leg and foot. He told troopers he was paying attention to what was in front of him and never saw anything in his mirrors. He reportedly didn’t know what hit the bus at the time but knew it had to be big.
The driver recalled seeing flames in the back of the bus as the band director worked to get everyone off of the burning vehicle.
“The band director was sitting right beside me and she said ‘everybody get out.’ So you know, I waited until, you know, most of them got out because -- they were more important,” the driver told troopers.
McDonald’s trial is scheduled for Feb. 24, 2025.
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