LICKING COUNTY, Ohio — Seconds matter when it comes to emergency situations, and the deputy director of Licking County 911 says dispatchers are typically able to send help within 30 seconds of answering a call. 

What You Need To Know

  • All 911 calls made in Licking County are routed to one location, housed with the county emergency management agency

  • Typically, initial help is dispatched about 30 seconds after a call is answered

  • Licking County 911 received 13 calls in a nearly six-minute time span reporting Tuesday morning's multi-vehicle crash and resulting fire

Witnesses and survivors of the deadly multi-vehicle crash Tuesday morning near westbound mile marker 118 on Interstate 70 in Etna made 14 calls to 911, said Nathan Bryan, deputy director of Licking County 911.

The crash involved five vehicles total, including a charter bus transporting students from Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools to Columbus. It also involved a semi. The semi caught fire after impact and the flames spread to the bus. 

“We just got hit by a semi truck,” said a student who called 911 after escaping the bus. “We’re a bunch of band kids on a charter bus. And there’s a fire. Please help us.” 

Six people were killed in the crash: John Mosely, 18; Jeffery Worrell, 18; Katelyn Owens, 15; Dave Kennat, 56; Kristy Gaynor, 39; and Shannon Wigfield, 45. 

Ohio State Highway Patrol and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the incident. 

The 911 call center is the first layer of a team approach to providing quick responses and care in an emergency, said Licking County Emergency Management Agency Director Sean Grady. 

He said a combination of intense training and technology helps dispatchers react efficiently, with much of the dispatch process automated and able to share updated information to first responders as it is received. 

“We’re constantly making improvements to it, adding technology to it,” Grady said. “Again, to literally shave seconds off of the response.”

Related Stories