LICKING COUNTY, Ohio — A truck driver involved in a devastating 2023 crash that killed six people aboard a high school marching band bus has been cleared of all felony charges but found guilty on six misdemeanor counts of vehicular homicide, according to court proceedings concluded on Friday, May 16.

Jacob McDonald, 61, was initially facing 26 charges following the November 2023 crash on Interstate 70 in northeast Ohio. The charges included:

• 6 counts of aggravated vehicular homicide (3rd-degree felonies)

• 9 counts of vehicular assault (4th-degree felonies)

• 11 counts of assault (1st-degree misdemeanors)

The crash occurred when McDonald failed to slow down for traffic that had built up due to a previous accident. His semi-truck rear-ended a car, pushing it into a bus carrying students and chaperones from a high school marching band. Three students and three adults were killed in the crash.

Judge David Branstool ruled that while the crash was tragic, the state failed to prove the recklessness required to support felony charges, resulting in only misdemeanor convictions.

“This job gives me the opportunity to recognize how, at various points in our life, we’re all just a few feet or a few seconds away from disaster. And that’s what happened here,” Judge Branstool said during the verdict.

McDonald’s sentencing will take place at a later date. According to his defense attorney, the maximum sentence he now faces is 18 months.

The ruling has stirred mixed reactions in the community, as the emotional toll of the crash remains heavy on the families of the victims and the local school district.