SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WCMH) – Attorneys for a man charged with vehicular homicide related to a fatal Clark County school bus crash filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing the legality of the man’s driver’s license.
Hermanio Joseph, 35, of Springfield, is accused of driving a minivan that crossed the center lane while nearing a curve and drove into the path of a Northwestern Local Schools bus on the district’s first day of the 2023-24 school year. The bus driver swerved to the right to avoid the collision, but the vehicles still struck each other, and the bus went off the road and down an embankment, flipping over on its top, according to police.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said 26 students were hospitalized. One student, Aiden Clark, was ejected from the bus and pronounced dead at the scene. Joseph is charged with vehicular homicide – a fourth-degree felony.
A motion filed by Joseph’s attorneys on Jan. 10 moves to dismiss the case because while the state alleges Joseph had an invalid license, prosecutors haven’t supplied Joseph’s defense with any evidence that his driver’s license was invalid on the date of the accident. The motion also claims Joseph had a valid driver’s license issued in Mexico, where he lived before coming to the U.S.
The motion argues that because Joseph had a valid driver’s license at the time of the crash, the potential violations committed by Joseph would be misdemeanors, rather than the fourth-degree felony outlined in the indictment.
In its response filed on Monday, the prosecution claims that an investigation found Joseph’s driver’s license was invalid in Mexico. It also alleges Joseph resided in the U.S. for more than a year at the time of the crash but hadn’t converted his license to an Ohio license.
Both court filings can be read in full below.
After the crash, Gov. Mike DeWine formed a school bus safety working group to examine topics from school bus regulations and crash risk factors to the possibility of seatbelts on buses. The group is scheduled to submit its recommendations Wednesday.
