Latest news with #NorthwesternLocalSchools
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
You could soon face a higher fine if you speed by a school bus in Ohio
In August 2023, a man driving a minivan struck a school bus filled with students, ejecting and killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark in Springfield. The driver was later sentenced to at least nine years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide. But state lawmakers want to do more to prevent future injuries and deaths. The Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 3, 88-0, on June 11. The proposed law would increase penalties for drivers passing stopped school buses, allow schools to install cameras on buses to catch offenders and set aside $10 million in state lottery profits to pay for school bus safety upgrades. 'Every day, thousands of students in Ohio ride school buses, and too many are put at risk by drivers who illegally pass stopped buses,' said Rep. Cecil Thomas, D-North Avondale. Ohio lawmakers won't require safety belts on school buses − an issue hotly debated following the August 2023 crash. Some of the changes came from recommendations of the Ohio School Bus Safety Working Group, which Gov. Mike DeWine assembled to look into school bus safety. But they will increase penalties for drivers who illegally pass school buses − a major issue identified when studying what would make school buses safer. 'That's been the overriding goal from the beginning: Make it more safe,' said Rep. Bernard Willis, R-Springfield. He represents Northwestern Local Schools, whose students were injured in the August 2023 crash. Current law requires drivers to stop at least 10 feet back from school buses with red flashing lights, loading or unloading students. The Ohio State Highway Patrol reported 933 criminal violations of illegally passing a school bus − although, bus drivers say the actual number is much higher. However, fines are currently optional for drivers who illegally pass these buses. Under the proposed changes, drivers would face a mandatory fine of between $250 and $1,000 for a first offense. Repeat offenders within five years would pay between $350 and $2,000 and have their driver's license suspended. Fines could be reduced if drivers took an educational course. The bill would also allow school buses to install cameras to catch drivers who fly past school buses. The school bus driver's eyewitness testimony would be required for a citation, not just the video footage alone. If the bill becomes law, Ohio schools could apply for a $10 million grant program to buy cameras, safety belts, illuminated signs, lane departure warning systems and other safety features recommended by DeWine's task force. Lawmakers initially proposed $50 million over two years, but that sum was reduced. The proposed law also honors the Northwestern Local Schools students by designating August as 'School Bus Safety Month.' The bill now heads to the Ohio Senate for consideration. If both chambers approve of the changes, the proposed law would head to DeWine for his signature. Dispatch reporter Bethany Bruner contributed to this article. State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@ or @jbalmert on X. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio wants to crack down on drivers after fatal school bus accident
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
You could soon face a bigger fine if you speed pass a school bus in Ohio
In August 2023, a man driving a minivan struck a school bus filled with students, ejecting and killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark in Springfield. The driver was later sentenced to at least nine years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide. But state lawmakers want to do more to prevent future injuries and deaths. The Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 3, 88-0, on June 11. The proposed law would increase penalties for drivers passing stopped school buses, allow schools to install cameras on buses to catch offenders and set aside $10 million in state lottery profits to pay for school bus safety upgrades. 'Every day, thousands of students in Ohio ride school buses, and too many are put at risk by drivers who illegally pass stopped buses,' said Rep. Cecil Thomas, D-North Avondale. Ohio lawmakers won't require safety belts on school buses − an issue hotly debated following the August 2023 crash. Some of the changes came from recommendations of the Ohio School Bus Safety Working Group, which Gov. Mike DeWine assembled to look into school bus safety. But they will increase penalties for drivers who illegally pass school buses − a major issue identified when studying what would make school buses safer. 'That's been the overriding goal from the beginning: Make it more safe,' said Rep. Bernard Willis, R-Springfield. He represents Northwestern Local Schools, whose students were injured in the August 2023 crash. Current law requires drivers to stop at least 10 feet back from school buses with red flashing lights, loading or unloading students. The Ohio State Highway Patrol reported 933 criminal violations of illegally passing a school bus − although, bus drivers say the actual number is much higher. However, fines are currently optional for drivers who illegally pass these buses. Under the proposed changes, drivers would face a mandatory fine of between $250 and $1,000 for a first offense. Repeat offenders within five years would pay between $350 and $2,000 and have their driver's license suspended. Fines could be reduced if drivers took an educational course. The bill would also allow school buses to install cameras to catch drivers who fly past school buses. The school bus driver's eyewitness testimony would be required for a citation, not just the video footage alone. If the bill becomes law, Ohio schools could apply for a $10 million grant program to buy cameras, safety belts, illuminated signs, lane departure warning systems and other safety features recommended by DeWine's task force. Lawmakers initially proposed $50 million over two years, but that sum was reduced. The proposed law also honors the Northwestern Local Schools students by designating August as 'School Bus Safety Month.' The bill now heads to the Ohio Senate for consideration. If both chambers approve of the changes, the proposed law would head to DeWine for his signature. Dispatch reporter Bethany Bruner contributed to this article. State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@ or @jbalmert on X. Do you think this plan does enough to make school buses safe in Ohio? This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio wants to crack down on drivers after fatal school bus accident
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Hermanio Joseph's appeal denied; conviction stands in fatal school bus crash
Apr. 4—The conviction of the minivan driver who crashed into a Northwestern Local Schools bus in August 2023, killing one student and injuring two dozen more just outside Springfield, was affirmed in the Second District Court of Appeals on Friday. Hermanio Joseph was found guilty of first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter and fourth-degree felony vehicular homicide in a May 2024 trial. He was sentenced to a prison term of 9 to 13.5 years. The appeals court ruled Friday to affirm the trial court's judgment. Clark County Prosecutor Dan Driscoll said Joseph's appeal "was an attempt to mischaracterize what happened during the course of the trial and to diminish the hard work put into this case, by law enforcement and the Clark County Prosecutor's Office." "Mr. Joseph's appeal failed because it relied on exaggeration and sensationalism and fell short on truth," Driscoll said. "We are satisfied that this brings a close to this painful chapter and hope the healing process can continue for everyone involved." Jessica Manungo, Joseph's appeal counsel, had argued that members of the jury had demonstrated bias in part due to media coverage and negative publicity against Haitians, and that his counsel at the time had been ineffective when he did not renew a motion to change the venue after jury selection. In court filings, Manungo argued that by failing to revisit the issue of changing the venue, the trial court prejudiced "Joseph's substantial rights by denying him a fair trial by an impartial jury." In a brief, Manungo argued that "the trial court abused its discretion and created structural error when it denied" Joseph's change of venue motion, "violating his rights to due process and to a fair trial by an impartial jury." She also argued that the court erred when it failed to reconsider Joseph's motion after jury selection. The appeals court, in its ruling, disagreed. Appeals Court Judge Chris Epley — writing an opinion with which Judge Michael Tucker and Judge Mary Katherine Huffman concurred — wrote that "there was not a clear and manifest showing that pretrial publicity was so pervasive and prejudicial that an attempt to seat a jury would be a vain act." Epley wrote the impartiality of one of the jurors, whose granddaughter taught in the Northwestern school district, was "a closer call as to actual bias," but ended up not reaching that standard. In voir dire, when asked whether she could be impartial, the juror had said she "questioned it to myself" and that "it's a fine line with me." Epley wrote that the juror's "honest self-reflection fell short of being a smoking gun," and that "some modicum of doubt is not dispositive." He wrote that taking into account all of the things that the juror said, "we cannot conclude that Juror 10 exhibited actual bias against Joseph." Manungo did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. During the trial, Joseph, a Haitian immigrant, testified he has a Mexican driver's license and Ohio ID card, but no Ohio driver's license. Joseph testified during his trial that he has temporary protected status for immigration purposes, and did not get an Ohio driver's license because he did not have the necessary documents. The crash occurred on the first day of the school year for Northwestern Elementary School students. A driver and 52 elementary school students were aboard the bus. An Ohio State Highway Patrol crash reconstruction expert said Joseph's vehicle crossed the centerline of Ohio 41 near Lawrenceville Road in German Twp. The bus driver steered the bus to the shoulder to try to avoid a collision, but Joseph's vehicle struck the side of the bus, which went down an embankment and flipped on its top. Aiden Clark, 11, was ejected out of the top emergency hatch as the bus flipped, and was killed. Two dozen other students were injured in the crash.
