The truck driver convicted in the fatal 2023 Tusky Valley charter bus crash will be sentenced on June 30th.
A Licking County judge last week found 61-year-old Jacob McDonald guilty of six counts of vehicular homicide for the Nov. 14, 2023, crash that killed three Tusky Valley band members who were on the bus and three adults who were in a separate vehicle accompanying the band on a trip.
Prosecutors sought more serious felony charges, but Judge David Branstool said they did not prove McDonald was on his phone or driving recklessly. Branstool instead ruled McDonald was negligent when he drove his semi at 70 miles per hour into the back of both vehicles which had slowed due to traffic on I-70 east of Columbus. The maximum penalty for the six misdemeanor convictions is 18 months in jail. The maximum sentence on the original charges was 31 years prison.
Prosecuting attorney Clifford Murphy said it is disappointing for the families.
Defense attorney Chris Brigdon says this was the result he and his client were looking for when they asked for a judge to decide the case and not a jury. Brigdon says he is expecting an 18-month jail sentence at the June 30th sentencing. He believes McDonald will get credit for 10 months already served and will have to spend 8 more months in jail.
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