LICKING COUNTY, Ohio — New documents released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reveal that the truck driver involved in the deadly 2023 bus crash on I-70 that killed six people, including three Tuscarawas Valley High School students, was discovered with a video game open on his phone during a previous traffic stop.
In addition, investigators say the cellphone used by the truck driver showed a large volume of data usage just minutes before the crash.
A total of five vehicles were involved in the Nov. 14, 2023, Licking County crash. All five were heading westbound on I-70 near the Smoke Road underpass at approximately 8:47 a.m. The vehicles, in back-to-front order, were a Freightliner semi-trailer, Nissan Murano, the charter bus carrying Tusky Valley students and chaperones, Toyota Highlander and Volvo semi.
In its preliminary report, the NTSB says the Freightliner, driven by 61-year-old Jacob McDonald, encountered a line of traffic forming from an earlier crash that happened more than a mile away. The semi-truck struck the Murano and forced it into the back of the bus. The Freightliner then overrode the Murano and struck the bus as well. The bus was forced into the rear of the Highlander, which then hit the Volvo semi and spun into the left lane. The bus then struck the back of the Volvo semi.
The six people who died in the crash included three Tusky Valley students who were on the bus:
- Wyatt Mosley, 18, Mineral City
- Jeffery "J.D." Worrell, 18, Bolivar
- Katelyn Owens, 15, Mineral City
The three other people who died were in the Murano. They were identified as Dave Kennat, 56, Navarre; Kristy Gaynor, 39, Zoar; and Shannon Wigfield, 45, Bolivar.
WHAT THE DOCUMENTS SHOW
The NTSB found that McDonald had nine traffic violations on his record, including several for speeding. He had also been subject to three road inspections prior to the crash.
In March of 2022, McDonald was stopped in Indiana for going 75 miles per hour in a 60-mph zone. "When contacted, the driver had his mobile phone open, and a video game was loaded and visible," the NTSB's report noted. McDonald denied that he was using the game application while driving and was not cited since there was no "observed violation."
McDonald's employer, Mid-State, gave him a verbal warning about the speeding, but told investigators they were not aware of his phone being opened to a video game until they were questioned by the NTSB.
Two months later, McDonald was "observed swerving left and right out of its lane" on I-70 in Ohio while driving. It was found that he had been working 15 hours, one hour more than the federal limit set for commercial drivers.
According to the NTSB, drivers for Mid-State are "required to use hands free devices and were not allowed to hold a cell phone while driving. The manual did not address other mobile device activities such as messaging, mobile games, or content streaming and did not address driver fatigue."
In addition, the NTSB discovered that while McDonald's cellphone was destroyed in the fire after the crash, records revealed "peaks in data use" prior to the collision. Specifically, data use on McDonald's phone reached 39.8 MB per minute at 8:37 a.m., approximately 10 minutes before the crash.
"For comparison, AT&T advises its customers that streaming high-definition video uses 41.7 MB of data per minute," the NTSB noted.
While McDonald chose not to speak with NTSB officials, he did provide information to investigators from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. McDonald told the OSHP he went to bed between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m. on Nov. 13 and slept until about 7:30 a.m. on the morning of the crash, adding that he did not feel tired when he started his day.
"I left the house this morning. And I was out in the road, and -- like normal. And then, next thing I remember, it's like I just woke up, and I seen the fire outside my truck. That's the only thing that I remember," McDonald told the OSHP.
CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST McDONALD
On July 17, a grand jury in Licking County indicted McDonald on 26 counts, including six charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, nine charges of vehicular assault and 11 charges of assault.
During McDonald's bond hearing, prosecutors also pointed out that cellphone usage may have played a factor in the deadly crash.
RELATED: $1 million bond remains for semi driver charged in I-70 crash that killed 6, injured 18 last year
“Despite having a no cellphone use policy in the defendant’s employer and pursuant to law, large amounts of data were received to his cellphone prior to the crash,” one of the prosecuting attorneys told the court in a story reported by our TEGNA sister station, 10TV News.
Bond for McDonald was set at $1 million. He remains in the Licking County Jail.
