Ohio bus crash cause probed after six killed and 18 injured: Updates
The bus, carrying students from the Tuscarawas Valley High School, crashed on an Ohio highway just east of Columbus
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Your support makes all the difference.Investigators have said that they have gathered “conflicting information” about the cause of a deadly crash involving a school bus travelling along a highway in Ohio on Tuesday.
Three Tuscarawas Valley High School students – Katelyn Owens, 15, Jeffery Worrell, 18, and John Mosely, 18 – died along with a high school teacher and two parent chaperones – Dave Kennat, 56, Kristy Gaynor, 39, and Shannon Wigfield, 45 – when five vehicles were involved in a pile-up on the I-70.
Another 20 students were transported to the hospital following the incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation to determine how the crash unfolded.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a press conference on Wednesday that “conflicting information” had come to light about the cause.
She also warned that “we have a public health crisis on our roads”. “We need all hands on deck,” she said.
The bus was carrying 57 band students from Tuscarawas Valley Schools, located approximately 120 miles northeast of Columbus and around 43 miles south of Akron, when tragedy struck.
What caused the bus crash?
The exact cause of the bus crash remains unknown, but the National Transportation Safety Board said they are investigating the incident and will visit the crash scene on Wednesday.
A preliminary investigation report is due to be published in a few weeks, said Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB. A more in-depth investigative report on the crash will not be ready for another 12 to 18 months.
While the incident is being investigated, questions remain over the safety of the charter bus, which belonged to Pioneer Trails, a bus company operating out of Millersburg.
The entity has a satisfactory safety rating, according to US Department of Transportation data. It has been involved in one other crash in the last 24 months that resulted in one injured person.
In a statement posted to Facebook, the business said it was cooperating with authorities to determine the cause of the crash.
On average, four motorcoach passengers die in bus crashes each year in the US, 1999 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows.
Hundreds attend vigil at local high school to honour victims of Ohio bus crash
Tuscarawas Valley High School was open on Wednesday
Superindentent Dr Derek Varansky said that despite the tragedy, Tuscarawas High School would be open on Wednesday, but that it would not be “a typical school day”.
“Those students on the bus who survived and will live with that traumatic experience into our entire district for the dark days, weeks, months to come,” he said, speaking at a prayer vigil at the school’s football stadium on Tuesday evening.
“Though difficult school will be in session tomorrow. And the reason for that is we don’t want any kids at home by themselves. So our doors will be open.
“It will not be a typical school day. There will be many counselors and support staff from other community organisations here, but we also respect and honor anybody who would want to leave their kids home and for our staff who don’t feel comfortable being here.”
In pictures: Vigil held for victims of Ohio bush crash that killed 6
‘One of the best guys I have ever met’: tributes to Ohio bus crash victims start flooding in
Tributes to the victims of a deadly Ohio bus crash that killed six people have flooded in.
The teenagers – Katelyn Owens, 15, Jeffery Worrell, 18, and John Wyatt Mosely, 18 – were killed in the tragic incident, along with a high school teacher and two parent chaperones.
One student called John Wyatt Mosely “one of the best guys I have ever met”. He was “always welcoming, funny, and always willing to share his opinion,” he added.
A post from the Tusky Valley Trojans in October said Mr Mosley was a member of the TVHS Marching Band, select choir, drama club and track team and that he planned to leave school and pursue acting before going to college to study computer programming.
ICYMI: Six reported dead in Ohio high school bus crash
Six people have been confirmed dead – including three teenage students – following a serious bus crash in Ohio.
Fifteen others were left injured after a charter bus carrying high school band students collided with a semi-truck near to the city of Columbus on Tuesday morning.
A vigil in honour of the victims, which also included a school teacher and two parent chaperones, was held at the Tuscarawas High School on Tuesday evening.
Authorities say an investigation into the crash is ongoing.
Michelle Del Rey has the full story.
Three students and three adults killed in Ohio school bus crash
Three students from Tusky Valley Middle-High School died in the crash
How did the crash unfold?
Around 55 people, including 54 students and a driver, were on board a charter bus headed westward towards Columbus when the vehicle was involved in a “chain-reaction crash” on Tuesday morning, Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
A semi-truck collided with the bus, hitting it from behind before bursting into flames, authorities said.
The crash happened at around 8.30am on Interstate 70 West close to the Smoke Road underpass in Licking County, about 40 miles northeast of Columbus.
Three other vehicles were also involved in the crash.
Officials closed the highway in both directions for most of the day while crews cleaned up the site. By around 4.30pm it had been reopened on the Eastbound side, the Ohio Department of Transportation (DOT) said.
The bus was transporting students to the Ohio School Boards Association conference in Columbus at the time of the crash, where the school’s band was due to perform.
The conference was cancelled after news of the accident broke, a spokesperson for the association said.
Superintendent says bus crash was ‘the worst day of my life’
Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools superintendent Dr Derek Varansky said that Tuesday was “the worst day of my life”.
Adressing those gathered at a prayer vigil on Tuesday night he said: “I stand before you tonight really without the words to say in a stadium that’s usually full of excitement and loud noises.
“Tonight it is silent and it’s a dark day in our district.
“Today began as an exciting day as our high school band would travel to Columbus to present at the Ohio School Boards Association Conference – a once in a lifetime event.
“And then it quickly turned into the darkest day and one of the darkest days in our districts history and the worst day of my life.”
Ohio school band students set off by bus for a performance. It ended in tragedy
A day which began with excitement ended tragically when a charter school bus was involved in a fiery crash on an Ohio highway. Now a community has been left mourning the six victims killed while questions are being asked about what exactly went wrong.
Martha McHardy reports:
What we know about the Ohio school bus crash that killed six
A day which began with excitement ended tragically when a charter school bus was involved in a fiery crash on an Ohio highway. Now a community has been left mourning the six victims killed while questions are being asked about what exactly went wrong. Martha McHardy and Michelle Del Rey report
Friends, family remember 15-year-old bus crash victim Katelyn Owens
Friends and family of Katelyn Owens shared their memories of the 15-year-old girl who was killed with five others — including two other students — in a bus crash on Tuesday.
Katelyn was traveling with her high school band to Columbus to play at an educational conference.
“We are all heartbroken and so many people loved our daughter,” Katelyn’s mother Erika Owens, told the Canton Repository.
“Everyone is heartbroken & in shock that [you’re] gone,” Aly Dolby, a friend of Katelyn’s who styled her hair, wrote on social media. ”You are the sweetest person I know and you gained your angel wings [too] soon and I truly can’t understand why if I’m being honest. You’re only 15 with so much more to see and experience in the world.”
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