COLUMBUS – The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on a fiery chain-reaction crash on I-70 in Licking County last month concludes that a tractor-trailer rig failed to slow down before hitting an SUV and a charter bus, resulting in the crash that left six people dead, including three teens.
At approximately 8:52 a.m. on Nov. 14, the 2019 Freightliner semi rig came upon a traffic backup that had formed in the westbound lanes of I-70 east of the state Route 310 interchange in Etna Township due to an earlier crash, the report stated.
The truck, traveling in the right lane of the freeway, “did not slow down” and struck the rear of a Nissan Murano as the SUV slowed for the backup, according to the report.
The truck drove over the SUV and collided with the rear of a charter bus carrying a driver and 54 passengers, most them students from the Tuscarawas Valley schools on their way to a conference in Columbus.
The Van Hool motorcoach struck the rear of a 2006 Toyota Highlander which rotated counterclockwise while travelling forward and struck the left side of a 2014 Volvo tractor-trailer vehicle before coming to rest in the left westbound lane.
As the bus continued traveling forward, it also struck the rear of the semitrailer attached to the Volvo, according to the report.
After the truck hit the Nissan, a fire broke out and consumed the semi, the Nissan, and the rear of the bus.
John Mosley and Jeffery Worrell, both 18, and 15-year-old Katelyn Owens died on the bus. The three adult occupants of the Nissan, who were traveling with the high school group as chaperones, also died.
The drivers of the Freightliner, operated by Mid-State Systems, the motorcoach, and the Toyota, as well as several passengers on the bus were treated for injuries.