NTSB recovers 'black boxes' from some of five vehicles involved in deadly crash on I-70

The National Transportation Safety Board retrieved electronic control modules, more commonly called "black boxes," from some of the five vehicles involved in a deadly crash Tuesday on Interstate 70 west in Licking County that killed six people, the agency announced Wednesday afternoon in Columbus.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said there is also some external video footage that may have come from other vehicles not involved in the fiery crash, which the Ohio State Highway Patrol said was a chain-reaction crash that happened at 8:52 a.m. in the backup of a crash about an hour earlier and further west on I-70 in Franklin County.

In the coming days, the NTSB will document the fatal crash site about a half-mile east of the Route 310 exit in Etna Township, Homendy said, and in about two to three weeks, the agency will issue a preliminary report. The full investigation and a final report could take as long as 18 months, she said.

Homendy said the order of the five vehicles involved in the crash was a tractor-trailer; a red SUV; the charter bus with students, teachers and chaperones from Tuscarawas Valley schools; another SUV carrying three other chaperones accompanying the bus; and a tractor-trailer.

Read More: After I-70 bus crash, what are the most dangerous highways in Ohio?

The Highway Patrol issued an update just before the start of the NTSB briefing Wednesday afternoon that identified the drivers and more details about the crash.

A commercial vehicle driven by Brandon Marchal, 37, of Wapakoneta, and owned by Wapakoneta-based G.A. Wintzer & Son, a manufacturer of farm and pet feed ingredients, oils and biofuels, was hit. The red SUV, driven by Robert Wolverton, 75, of Heath, also was hit.

The charter bus, operated by Millersburg-based Pioneer Trails bus lines, was driven by Donald Wagler, 65, of Hartville, who was still hospitalized Wednesday. Homendy credited Wagler with getting the door open quickly so occupants could escape before the fire eliminated the power source after the crash.

The driver of the tractor-trailer belonging to Mid State Systems, based in Hebron, Licking County, which caught fire after hitting the SUV of the chaperones and the rear of the bus, was driven by Jacob McDonald, 60, of Zanesville, the patrol said.

All of those drivers suffered injuries in the crash, the patrol said.

The driver of the SUV containing the chaperones, who were all killed in the crash and the fiery aftermath, was not identified by the patrol.

All of the drivers involved in the crash were licensed, Kenny Bragg, the NTSB's lead investigator in the crash, said at Wednesday's briefing.

Firefighters from West Licking, Violet and other fire departments responding at the scene dealt with rescuing occupants from the bus, extinguishing the fire and addressing a potential hazmat situation.

When asked Wednesday about what caused the fire, Homendy said she couldn't say yet. But, she said it could have been caused by fuel or any one of the vehicles involved in the crash, including the bus, the tractor-trailer or the SUV that was crushed between the two larger vehicles.

"I don't want to presume what it is today, but that's something that will be part of our investigation," Homendy said.

The NTSB arrived Tuesday night at John Glenn Columbus International Airport to begin investigating the crash. Nine investigators and seven other NTSB personnel are involved in the investigation.

NTSB officials ventured out Wednesday to the crash scene, Homendy said.

Together, the NTSB investigators and experts will examine a variety of factors that could have contributed to the crash. Those aspects include, but are not limited to: road conditions, roadway design, traffic volumes, accident history in the area, driver fatigue and distraction, medical histories, alcohol and drug testing, training and equipment design, Homendy said.

Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools, an Ohio school district in Zoarville, said the chartered bus from Pioneeer Bus Lines was carrying 54 students and chaperones on their way to the last day of the Ohio School Boards Association conference Tuesday in Columbus. Some of the students on the bus were band members who were going to perform at the conference, which canceled the final day of event after learning of the crash.

The three students who died on the bus were believed to have been in the back of the bus that was damaged by the crash and fire and were pronounced deceased at the scene. They are: Wyatt Mosley, 18, and Katelyn N. Owens, both of Mineral City, and Jeffery D. Worrell, 18, of Bolivar.

The three chaperones who were in an SUV behind the bus and hit by the Mid States tractor trailer were: Dave Kennat, 56, of Navarre; Kristy Gaynor, 39, of Zoar; and Shannon Wigfield, 45, of Bolivar. The latter was also a teacher.

The family assistance team from the NTSB has been reaching out to the families of those killed and the school where the three students attended classes, Homendy said.

The family assistance team from the NTSB also began reaching out to the families and the school where students killed in the crash attended classes, Homendy said.

"I can't imagine what you've gone through since this crash and what challenges lie ahead of you," she said, addressing the people affected by the crash.

mfilby@dispatch.com

@MaxFilby

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: NTSB investigating fiery crash on I-70; report coming in a few weeks