A truck driver will serve seven more months for a fatal bus crash that killed seven on Interstate 70 in Ohio in 2023.
The crash happened on November 14th, 2023. The truck driver was sentenced on Monday, June 30th in Licking County, Ohio, reported NBC4i.
61-year-old Jacob McDonald crashed into traffic slowed on I-70. McDonald crashed his Freightliner into a Nissan, pushing it into a charter bus, and then crashed directly into the charter bus. The charter bus was then pushed into a Highlander, which struck a volvo semi truck. The Freightliner then crashed into the Volvo.
Three teenage students inside of the bus, along with two parent chaperones and two teachers in one of the cars, were killed in the crash. An investigation by the Ohio Department of Public Safety determined that McDonald was following too closely at the time of the crash.
McDonald initially faced 26 charges, including six third-degree felony counts of aggravated vehicular manslaughter, nine fourth-degree felony counts of vehicular assault and 11 first-degree misdemeanor counts of assault. He was found guilty of six misdemeanor counts of vehicular homicide back in May. Judge David Branstool stated that he only convicted McDonald of the lesser charges becayse the state did not prove that the truck driver acted recklessly beyond a reasonable doubt.
“There is no sentence that I can impose today or in the event that he had been convicted of more serious offenses that would have satisfied the victims of this offense, I get that,” Branstool said at the Monday, June 30th sentencing.
The maximum sentencing for six counts of vehicular manslaughter is 18 months. McDonlad was credited for 323 days of time served. His remaining sentence is 217 days – just over seven more months.
McDonald had been in jail on $1 million bond since he was arrested in July 2024. His license will be suspended for five years, He will be released from prison on January 9th, 2026.
“I pray every night for every single one of you and everyone involved… You can’t say I don’t have remorse because I do,” McDonald said during the sentencing. “Every day I live I have remorse.”
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