The trial of a Zanesville tractor-trailer driver facing 26 criminal counts related to a November 2023 crash with a charter bus in Etna Township that killed six people and injured 18 others has been pushed to May from its scheduled start date next week.
Jacob D. McDonald, 61, pleaded not guilty in July to the charges, which include six counts of aggravated vehicle homicide, nine counts of vehicular assault and 11 counts of assault. McDonald had been driving a tractor-trailer on Interstate 70 when it hit an SUV in front of him and a charter bus carrying 54 students and chaperones from Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools.
Three students — John Mosley, 18, Jeffery Worrell, 18, and Katelyn Owens, 15, — died in the fiery crash, as did Dave Kennat, 56, Kristy Gaynor, 39, and Shannon Wigfield, 46, who were traveling in the SUV directly ahead of McDonald’s semitrailer and behind the bus carrying the students. The trio were traveling to help chaperone the band students for a scheduled performance at a conference in Columbus.
McDonald’s trial had been scheduled to start Monday in Licking County Common Pleas Court after a few prior postponements. Chris Brigdon, McDonald’s attorney, filed a motion this week seeking to move the trial to a later date, citing a desire to present expert testimony the defense would not have been able to bring forth if the trial started that day.
Brigdon stated that he and his team first contacted the expert on Feb. 10 before filing a motion to obtain them. Ohio law stipulates that parties must disclose to opposing counsel expert witnesses at least 21 days before trial.
Brigdon argued in Monday’s motion that the expert would be barred from testifying under that rule. He stated cellular data evidence is critical for their defense.
Licking County Common Pleas Judge David Branstool granted the motion Tuesday and rescheduled the trial for May 5. Court records show he had previously granted a separate motion from McDonald’s attorneys seeking to obtain the expert, who specializes in call detail record and cell site location analysis, among other areas, according to the motion.
The Licking County Prosecutor’s Office filed its own motion opposing continuance, stating that McDonald already had been given time to obtain experts and that the motion was untimely, court records show.
In the motion seeking postponement, Brigdon states the expert testimony is “crucial in challenging the state’s reliance in incomplete and assumption-based cellular data analysis.”
In November, the National Transportation Safety Board released a public docket into its investigation of the crash. The report states data usage from McDonald’s Samsung phone peaked at 39.8 megabytes per minute about 10 minutes before the crash. It’s unclear in the defense motion if it’s this data that Brigdon is refuting.
The NTSB report also cited a phone company stating streaming high-definition videos uses 41.7 megabytes of data per minute. Without access to McDonald’s phone, which the fire from the crash destroyed, it couldn’t be determined whether the data transfer began through an automatic phone or application update or if McDonald initiated it, according to the report.
McDonald remains in the Licking County jail on a $1 million bond. According to a Ohio State Highway Patrol crash report, McDonald had no alcohol or drugs in his system at the time of the crash.
The NTSB report stated that McDonald’s trailer had been traveling at 74.7 mph about one minute before the crash. The speed limit on I-70 where the crash happened is 70 mph.
Estates of the victims have filed multiple civil lawsuits accusing McDonald and multiple companies of failing to install safety devices and follow safety measures that could have prevented the crash.
Advocate reporter Josué Perez can be reached at jhperez@newarkadvocate.com.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Trial date pushed to May for semi driver charged in Tuscarawas Valley bus crash
Reporting by Josué Perez, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
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