COLUMBUS, Ohio — The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary findings from the deadly bus crash on Interstate 70 in Licking County last month that killed six people and injured 18 others.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said numerous police and fire departments responded to the scene shortly after the Nov. 14 crash on westbound Interstate 70 in Licking County, about 26 miles east of Columbus.
Homendy said the safety board team went to the scene the day after the crash for the first time to get an overview of the site and start looking for cameras and other evidence from the five vehicles involved in the crash.
She said there was “conflicting information” about the sequence of events that led to the chain-reaction crash, which also involved an SUV and a semi-truck. The Pioneer Trails charter bus was carrying students and chaperones from the Tuscarawas Valley Local School District in eastern Ohio, who were headed to perform at an educational conference.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol released its crash report on Nov. 28, showing the sequence of events and providing clarity on which order the vehicles were in at the time of the incident. You can find details of that report here.
Following a weeks-long investigation, NTSB also pieced together a sequence of events and determined a probable cause for the incident.
The report indicated that the semi involved in the crash did not slow down prior to striking the Nissan. It then went over the Nissan, hitting the charter bus. The report adds that the Nissan had slowed down due to traffic from an earlier crash. The NTSB continues to investigate the crash and is expected to release a list of safety recommendations.
Read the NTSB report below:
On Tuesday, November 14, 2023, about 8:52 a.m. eastern standard time, a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia truck-tractor in combination with a 2017 Strickland semitrailer (combination vehicle), operated by Mid-State Systems Inc., was traveling west in the right lane of Interstate 70 (I-70) near Etna, in Licking County, Ohio. At this location, I-70 was a divided, four-lane asphalt roadway with a 70-mph speed limit. As the combination vehicle reached the area of milepost 118.7, it encountered a traffic queue that had formed due to an earlier crash that occurred near milepost 117.2. The combination vehicle did not slow and struck the rear of a 2015 Nissan Murano, occupied by the driver and two passengers, traveling west in the right lane as it slowed for the traffic queue. The combination vehicle overrode the Nissan and collided with the rear of a 2009 Van Hool motorcoach occupied by the driver and 54 passengers. The motorcoach struck the rear of a 2006 Toyota Highlander which rotated counterclockwise while travelling forward. The Toyota then struck the left side of a 2014 Volvo combination vehicle before coming to rest in the left westbound lane. As the motorcoach continued traveling forward it also struck the rear of the semitrailer attached to the 2014 Volvo combination vehicle.
Following the impact between the 2019 Freightliner combination vehicle and the Nissan, a postcrash fire ensued that consumed the combination vehicle, the Nissan, and the rear of the motorcoach. The occupants of the Nissan and three motorcoach passengers were fatally injured. The drivers of the 2019 Freightliner combination vehicle, the motorcoach, and the Toyota as well as several motorcoach passengers were treated for injuries.
Parties to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation are:
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
- Ohio State Highway Patrol
- Ohio Department of Transportation
- Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
- Daimler Trucks North America
All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events.
___
What were investigators looking into?
NTSB examined safety issues, including motorcoach occupant protection, collision avoidance systems for commercial motor vehicles and vehicle fire causation.
Investigators focusing on crash reconstruction are mapping and document the crash scene and the vehicles involved. They will analyze roadway markings, review drone footage and reconstruct the events that led to the crash.
Investigators will also look into electronic data recorders that were found on some of the vehicles. They will also examine footage that was gathered by the Ohio State Highway Patrol and from vehicles that may have been in the area of the crash.
The agency also utilizes the "party system," bringing in other organizations and companies to help with the investigation.
Once the information and evidence are gathered, the NTSB will piece together a sequence of events, and determine a probable cause for the incident.