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

Accident – Death – Obituary News : Tragic Accident Leaves Six Dead and 18 Injured in Ohio Highway Crash

ETNA, Ohio (AP) — A devastating accident occurred on an Ohio highway on Tuesday morning when a semitruck rear-ended a charter bus filled with high school students. The collision resulted in the death of six people and left 18 others injured, according to officials.

The crash involved five vehicles, including a Pioneer Trails charter bus carrying students and chaperones from the Tuscarawas Valley Local School District in eastern Ohio, as reported by Licking County Emergency Management Agency Director Sean Grady.

Tragically, three passengers on the bus, along with three individuals from another passenger vehicle involved in the crash, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The deceased were identified as John W. Mosley, 18, of Mineral City; Jeffery D. Worrell, 18, of Bolivar; Katelyn N. Owens, 15, of Mineral City; Dave Kennat, 56, of Navarre; Kristy Gaynor, 39, of Zoar; and Shannon Wigfield, 45, of Bolivar.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine expressed his condolences during a news conference at the scene, stating, “This is our worst nightmare, when we have a bus full of children involved in a crash. Prayers go out to the families, everyone who was on the bus.”

Fifteen students and the bus driver were transported to nearby hospitals, while other students were taken to a reunification site, officials confirmed. One driver from the commercial vehicles involved was also transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while another driver was treated at the scene.

The collision occurred on Interstate 70 in Licking County, approximately 26 miles east of Columbus, around 9 a.m. All vehicles involved were traveling westbound when the chain-reaction crash took place. Several vehicles caught fire as a result of the collision. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation, and a team of National Transportation Safety Board investigators has been dispatched to the scene.

The students and chaperones on the bus were en route to an Ohio School Boards Association conference in Columbus, according to Tuscarawas Valley Superintendent Derek Varansky. Following the incident, Varansky expressed the district’s focus on providing support to the affected families and the entire school community.

The conference was canceled upon learning of the crash, as confirmed by spokesperson Jeff Chambers.

Pioneer Trails, the charter bus company, offered its condolences to those affected by the crash and stated that it would cooperate with authorities during the investigation.

In response to the tragedy, the Red Cross dispatched 30 units of blood to a hospital in the Mount Carmel Health System to assist the victims. Additionally, a center was set up at a United Methodist Church in Etna, where bus passengers not in need of medical attention could go to contact their loved ones, according to Marita Salkowski, regional communications director for the American Red Cross of Central and Southern Ohio.

As parents arrived at Tuscarawas Valley Middle-High School to pick up their children, school officials spoke with them to provide support. The incident left many parents distraught, with Laurie Fragasse, a parent, stating, “I’m sick. I’m sick to my stomach.”

Emergency workers from various agencies responded to the crash scene. Ohio Department of Transportation cameras captured footage showing smoke emanating from the site. Police officers blocked nearby entrance ramps to I-70 East and West, leading to increased traffic along the road.

Sadly, this collision marks the second recent fatal crash in the United States involving high school students on a charter bus. In September, a charter bus carrying high school students to band camp veered off a New York highway, resulting in the deaths of two individuals and several injuries.

The Associated Press has issued a correction regarding the spelling of one victim’s name. The corrected name is John W. Mosley, not Mosely, as previously reported by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Ron Todt in Philadelphia and Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey, contributed to this report..