LICKING COUNTY — The driver of the charter bus that was hit by a semitruck gave an emotional testimony Tuesday, recounting the crash that left six dead and several injured.
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Jacob McDonald, the driver of a semitrailer that crashed into the bus is currently on trial facing 26 criminal counts for the November 2023 crash that killed six people. There were 54 students on the charter bus. Three of the six people killed were band students at Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools in eastern Ohio.
Donald Wagler, the driver of the Pioneer Trails charter bus, gave his testimony of the crash on the second day of trial on Tuesday.
“It felt like I was hit by a ton of bricks. As soon as I was hit, I turned my wheel to the right to avoid interacting with the traffic in front of me,” Wagler said.
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“Is there anything you could have done to avoid what happened here?” an attorney asked Wagler.
“I don’t think so. If I wouldn’t have done what I did, it would have been a whole lot more injuries. By turning hard right, I saved a lot more lives that would have been impacted. The bus would have been like an accordion. Would have totally hurt a lot more people,” Donald said.
Wagler said he doesn’t believe McDonald took any action to avoid the collision.
The biggest question discussed in court Tuesday was whether McDonald was actively using his phone in the moments leading up to the crash, according to our news partners at WBNS-TV in Columbus.
Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Trevor Jasper testified that McDonald drove about 800 feet without braking before hitting the bus.
“Right around the time of collision, this phone seems to be receiving data and not at the bytes level, but the megabytes level. AT&T shows customers how they are going to be using the data for their phone. That equates fairly well to the 38.61 megabytes in just over a minute,” Jasper said.
McDonald’s defense attorney argued that his phone was destroyed in the crash, making it impossible to know if he was using the phone at the time of the crash.
Digital Forensic Expert Johnathan Buffington said he believes McDonald was using his phone and was distracted.
“It is my professional opinion that this cellular device was active. Because it was active, it created an opportunity to be distracted and caused the driver to move his eyes from the road,” Buffington said.
The trial paused on Wednesday, but the defense is expected to begin presenting expert testimony on Thursday, according to WBNS-TV.
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