On Nov. 14, a bus crash, which involved a semitrailer killed six people and injured at least 18 on Interstate 70.
The bus was on its way to Columbus from Tuscarawas Valley High School, where students and chaperones were on their way toward an Ohio School Boards Association conference.
The incident happened around 9 a.m. on Interstate 70 West in Licking County, where the chartered bus that took the students was rear-ended by a commercial semitrailer and pushed three other vehicles in.
Three students were immediately pronounced dead at the crash site. This includes high schoolers J.D. Worrell, Wyatt Mosely, and Katelyn N. Owens. Other passengers who were pronounced dead at the scene were Dave Kennat, Kristy Gaynor, and Shannon Wigfield.
Many have rushed in to express their condolences and sympathy to the ones affected by the crash.
“This is our worst nightmare when we have a bus full of children involved in a crash,” Governor Mike DeWine said. “It’s certainly the worst nightmare that families can endure or a school can endure.”
In response to the crash, DeWine has created a task force to address bus safety, which includes the possibility of seat belt requirements on buses.
Senator Sherrod Brown, who has repeatedly supported federal seat belt requirements on school buses also expressed his condolences.
“Our hearts are with the Tuscarawas Valley students, chaperones, and their families,” Brown said. “My thanks to the first responders for arriving at the scene quickly.”
One person thought as a hero is the bus driver of the charter bus, Don Wagler as he is believed to have saved numerous lives, even though he suffered serious injuries to the leg, according to Cleveland 19 News.
The crash is the worst in Tuscarawas Valley High School history since five volleyball players were killed in an accident in 1980.
“The Ohio Highway Patrol called the crash one of the worst ever in the area at that time,” The Times-Reporter said.
It will be important to see how the Tuscarawas Valley community will respond.
