Fatal Accident on Interstate 70 in Ohio Leaves Six Dead, Including High School Students

Police – Accident – Death – Obituary News : Both directions of Interstate 70 in Licking County, Ohio, near the State Route 310 interchange, have been closed following a tragic accident that occurred on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. A charter bus carrying high school students was rear-ended by a semitruck, resulting in the death of six individuals and leaving 18 others injured.

According to officials, the crash involved a total of five vehicles, including the Pioneer Trails charter bus carrying students and chaperones from the Tuscarawas Valley Local School District in eastern Ohio. Three passengers on the bus, identified as John W. Mosely, 18, of Mineral City; Jeffery D. Worrell, 18, of Bolivar; and Katelyn N. Owens, 15, of Mineral City, were pronounced dead at the scene by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine expressed his condolences during a news conference at the scene, calling the incident “our worst nightmare.” He offered prayers to the families affected by the tragedy. A total of 15 students and the bus driver were transported to area hospitals, while other students were taken to a reunification site.

The crash also claimed the lives of three individuals in one of the passenger vehicles involved. They were identified as Dave Kennat, 56, of Navarre; Kristy Gaynor, 39, of Zoar; and Shannon Wigfield, 45, of Bolivar. The driver of the other passenger vehicle was taken to a hospital, while the drivers of the commercial vehicles involved sustained varying degrees of injuries.

The accident occurred around 9 a.m. when the vehicles were traveling westbound on Interstate 70. Multiple vehicles caught fire after the chain-reaction crash, causing further devastation. The cause of the accident remains under investigation, and a team of National Transportation Safety Board investigators is en route to the scene.

The students and chaperones on the bus were on their way to an Ohio School Boards Association conference in Columbus when the collision took place. The conference was promptly canceled upon learning of the tragic incident. Tuscarawas Valley Superintendent Derek Varansky stated that their primary focus is reaching out to the affected families and providing support to the school community.

In response to the accident, Pioneer Trails, the charter bus company, offered its condolences and assured cooperation with the authorities. The Red Cross also stepped in to assist by sending 30 units of blood to a hospital in the Mount Carmel Health System.

As news of the crash spread, concerned parents flocked to the Tuscarawas Valley Middle-High School parking lot. School officials were present to communicate with parents and assist them in picking up their children. The devastating incident has left the community in shock and grief.

This tragedy in Ohio follows a similar fatal crash involving high school students on a charter bus in New York in September. Two individuals lost their lives, and several others were injured when a charter bus carrying students to band camp veered off a highway.

The investigation into the Ohio accident continues, and the closure of Interstate 70 will remain in effect until further notice..