OHIO — The National Transportation Safety Board began its investigation late Tuesday night into the I-70 crash that resulted in six deaths and multiple injuries.

What You Need To Know

  • The crash happened around 8:52 a.m. Tuesday on I-70 near State Route 310

  • The victims include three teenagers who had been on a charter bus from Tuscarawas Valley School District heading toward a conference in Columbus when the crash occurred

  • The NTSB said the investigation will take between 12 to 18 months, but a preliminary report will be issued in two to three weeks

The crash happened around 8:52 a.m. Tuesday on I-70 near State Route 310 in Licking County, Ohio. The victims include three teenagers who had been on a charter bus from Tuscarawas Valley School District heading toward a conference in Columbus when the crash occurred. A faculty member and two chaperones had been traveling in a passenger vehicle, and they also lost their lives because of the crash.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said it will take around 12 to 18 months to complete the investigation, but a preliminary report on the crash will be released in two to three weeks. She said the goal is to find out as much about the crash as possible to issue safety recommendations to prevent something like the crash from happening again. 

“Our focus is on safety. Our whole mission is based on determining how this happened, why this happened and prevent it from reoccuring," said Homendy. 

Homendy said at any point during the investigation, the NTSB may release recommendations as they see fit. 

Homendy said starting Tuesday night into Wednesday, the NTSB has been collecting information about the accident — what the vehicles looked like, roadway markings and collecting as much evidence as possible. The team consists of 16 personnel that includes NTSB investigators and family assistance program officials who assist families and survivors affected by the tragedy. The team will be on the ground into next week collecting information.

Homendy said they have also collected electronic data recorders from some of the vehicles, camera footage from the Ohio State Highway Patrol and footage from vehicles that were not involved in the crash that may have caught what happened. Investigators have yet to look at this information.

Homedy said there was conflicting information about the events leading up to this accident. After the team's initial data collection from the scene, the team will then start gathering other factual information, such as history of the vehicles and more. The team will also look into the injuries sustained during the accident. 

"From a professional standpoint at NTSB, we look at these things, these tragedies, the vehicle, the road conditions and, you know, it’s part of our investigation," Homendy said. "We’re also human. I'm a mom and I have a 15-year-old daughter, so when I look at the vehicle or if I look at the road conditions — you can’t not think about the children involved, their families. This was a very serious crash, so you can’t separate those two. That’s what makes us so passionate about our job and it’s why we want to determine how to prevent it from happening again."

The Ohio State Highway Patrol identified the victims as John W. Mosely, 18, of Mineral City; Jeffery D. Worrell, 18, of Bolivar; and Katelyn N. Owens, 15, of Mineral City; Dave Kennat, 56, of Navarre; Kristy Gaynor, 39, of Zoar; and Shannon Wigfield, 45, of Bolivar. 

Homendy said 43,000 people died on roadways each year, and the NTSB team has investigated a number of crashes, including motor coaches with kids on board. 

 “We have a public health crisis on our roads, and we need all-hands-on-deck here. We need to take action to save lives," Homendy said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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