NEWARK, Ohio — Nine months after pleading not guilty to dozens of criminal charges, Jacob McDonald is now standing before a judge.

What You Need To Know

  • The trial for the truck driver accused in the bus crash that killed six people, including three Tuscarawas Valley students, began Monday

  • The semitruck driver, Jacob McDonald, is charged with 26 criminal counts 

  • McDonald's blood work shows that he didn’t have any signs of being impaired by either alcohol or drugs

The truck driver is accused of causing a crash on I-70 that killed three students, two chaperones and a teacher all from the Tuscarawas Valley School District, who were headed to Columbus for a band competition in November of 2023. The prosecution is using other truck drivers as expert witnesses to strengthen its case.

“If I know something is coming up, and I don't know what's going to happen with it, if I hit the brake once, I don't have to do anything else. The exhaust will do the work and I'll naturally slow down,” said Assistant County Prosecutor Clifford Murphy. 

The trial began Monday morning with opening statements from both sides. The prosecution said it has evidence to prove that McDonald was driving distracted and speeding — claims that the defense rejects, using its cross examination of a state trooper to show it’s difficult to prove.

“So, you didn't observe the sequence of events in the accident in question today, correct?” said Defense Attorney Chris Brigdon. 

“No," said State Trooper Shawn Grim.

“In fact, all of your body cam footage is subsequent to that event,” said Brigdon.  

So far, the prosecution has called several witnesses who were on the bus, including a student who was injured along with the band director and a chaperone. They also called an eyewitness who was driving on I-70 during the time of the crash, who said he saw it all happen. 

“The next thing I know, we heard a loud crash. Boom! Looked over out the passenger window. And I saw the truck pushing the bus down the road, and I seen the truck go up the back of the bus like I was on a roller coaster,” said Eugene Manns. 

Manns said he even stepped in to help. 

“So reach behind the passenger seat fire extinguisher. And I went out and start pulling out the fire balls that was leading up to the back of the truck and the Burgundy SUV,” said Manns. 

The prosecution still has several more witnesses it plans to question before the defense will get its turn to present its case. As for McDonald, blood work shows that he didn’t have any signs of being impaired by either alcohol or drugs. It’s important to note that this is a bench trial, meaning there isn’t a jury, but instead, only the judge will consider the evidence and make a ruling. 

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