Tragic Bus Crash in Ohio Leaves Six Dead, Including John W. Mosely, Jeffery D. Worrell, and Katelyn N. Owens

A team from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is set to commence investigations on Wednesday at the site of a tragic highway crash in Ohio. The accident involved a charter bus carrying high school students, resulting in six fatalities and 18 injuries.

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy announced that the team would be searching for any available evidence, including footage from cameras, in the five vehicles involved in the crash. The incident occurred on westbound Interstate 70 in Licking County, approximately 26 miles (42 kilometers) east of Columbus, the state capital. Homendy mentioned that the team is expected to stay in the area for five to seven days, with a preliminary report to be released in the coming weeks.

According to Homendy, there is conflicting information regarding the sequence of events leading to the chain-reaction crash, which also involved an SUV and a semitruck. The Pioneer Trails charter bus was transporting students and chaperones from the Tuscarawas Valley Local School District in eastern Ohio.

At the scene, three passengers on the bus, including the driver, lost their lives, while 54 students and chaperones were injured. The deceased individuals have been identified as John W. Mosely, 18, of Mineral City; Jeffery D. Worrell, 18, of Bolivar; and Katelyn N. Owens, 15, of Mineral City.

The bus was en route to Columbus for an Ohio School Boards Association conference, which has since been canceled due to the tragedy. The conference, known as “the second-largest education convention in the nation,” was intended to provide professional development sessions for school district management teams and an annual Student Achievement Fair showcasing innovative school programs.

Speaking at a community prayer vigil on Tuesday night, Tuscarawas Valley Superintendent Derek Varansky described the day as one of the darkest in the district’s history and the worst in his personal life. He expressed the community’s desire to honor the deceased and provide support to the survivors and the district during the challenging times ahead.

Despite the circumstances, Varansky announced that classes would resume on Wednesday, as district officials did not want any students to be left alone at home. He acknowledged that it would not be a typical school day and assured that counselors and support staff from various community organizations would be present to offer assistance.

In addition to the fatalities on the bus, all three occupants of one of the other vehicles involved—a teacher and two chaperones—also lost their lives. They have been identified as Dave Kennat, 56, of Navarre; Kristy Gaynor, 39, of Zoar; and Shannon Wigfield, 45, of Bolivar.

The driver of the remaining passenger vehicle was taken to a hospital, while the drivers of the commercial vehicles sustained varying degrees of injuries. One commercial driver was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, while the other was treated at the scene, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Following the crash, both sides of Interstate 70 were closed for several hours, causing significant traffic disruptions in the area. The eastbound lanes were reopened late Tuesday afternoon, while the westbound lanes resumed operation early Wednesday.

Tori Wilson, a sophomore at the school who was seated towards the back of the bus during the collision, recounted her experience to WBNS-TV. She overheard someone mentioning a fire and the need to evacuate, but she was trapped and struggled to escape.

“I had a kid on top of me, having a seizure and not moving… unresponsive. My friend was sitting next to me on my right, and she let me take the seat by the window. All I could see was her head, with the rest crushed beneath the seats,” Wilson said.

Wilson shared that while the bus was engulfed in flames, the junior high band director repeatedly returned to the vehicle, pulling students to safety. Eventually, she managed to extricate herself through a window and flee from the scene.

This tragic incident marks the second recent fatal crash involving high school students on a charter bus in the United States. In September, two individuals were killed and several others injured when a charter bus transporting high school students to band camp veered off a highway in New York.