CLARK COUNTY — Prosecutors are asking a judge to deny a motion to dismiss the cases against the man charged and accused of causing a deadly school bus crash in Clark County last year.
Hermanio Joseph, 35, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter in August after the crash that killed 11-year-old Aiden Clark.
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Attorneys for Joseph filed a motion to dismiss his case earlier this month.
In a response to that request filed on Monday in Clark County Common Pleas Court, prosecutors wrote that Joseph had an invalid driver’s license, and that elevates the charge to a fourth-degree felony.
As News Center 7 previously reported, Joseph was the driver of a Honda Odyssey that crossed left of center and into the path of a Northwestern Local School District bus on State Route 41 on Aug. 22. While trying to avoid the van, the bus traveled off the right side of the roadway, down an embankment, and overturned.
Clark was killed in the crash and dozens of other students were injured.
In the motion to dismiss the case, Joseph’s team said it was “uncontested by the State that (Joseph) had a valid license issued in Mexico, where he resided prior to arriving in the United States.”
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In their response, prosecutors said that the claim was not true and that they claimed the license was invalid for multiple reasons.
Prosecutors stated that a Homeland Security special agent confirmed that Joseph’s license was “invalid with the Mexican government,” as it wasn’t “issued from an approved location.” They also wrote that since Joseph lived in the United States for more than a year, he was required by law to get a state driver’s license.
A decision on the motion to dismiss has not been made at this time. We’ll continue to check on this case and will bring you updates when available.