COLUMBUS, Ohio — A truck driver in Ohio has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide after he caused a chain-reaction crash involving a charter bus carrying high school students that left six people dead and 18 others injured last November.

Jacob McDonald, of Zanesville, Ohio, was indicted Thursday on 26 counts, including six counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, nine counts of vehicular assault and 11 counts of assault. The charges McDonald faces include allegations that he was driving “recklessly.”

The chain-reaction crash on Nov. 14, 2023, occurred on the westbound lane of Interstate 70 in Licking County, which is about 40 miles east of Columbus, Ohio’s capital city. Reports from the Ohio Department of Public Safety and National Transportation Safety Board revealed that McDonald, who was driving a tractor-trailer at the time, failed to slow down for a vehicle in front him.

The tractor-trailer then struck the vehicle, which pushed the car into the charter bus carrying 54 students and chaperones. Three students, a teacher and two other chaperones were killed in the incident.

McDonald is in the Licking County Justice Center on a $1 million bond. He is next scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon. McDonald does not currently have an attorney listed as representing him.

The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing to investigate the crash.

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What happened in the crash?

Authorities said the crash involved five vehicles total, including the charter bus, the tractor-trailer, another commercial vehicle and two passenger vehicles. None of the drivers involved were found to be distracted or under the influence.

The charter bus carrying students and chaperones was headed to the last day of the Ohio School Boards Association conference in Columbus. It was occupied by a driver and 54 students, teachers and chaperones from Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools in Zoarville, Ohio.

In the NTSB’s report released last December, investigators said traffic had been backed up on the interstate due to a previous crash. McDonald did not slow down and hit the the rear of a 2015 Nissan Murano — occupied by a high school teacher and two chaperones.

The Nissan was traveling west in the right lane as it slowed for the backed-up traffic, the report said. The tractor-trailer then ran over the Nissan and collided into the charter bus, which struck the rear of a 2006 Toyota Highlander that rotated counterclockwise while traveling forward and hit a 2014 Volvo combination vehicle.

Dozens of emergency personnel were dispatched to the crash site and area hospitals had been placed on alert for a “mass casualty incident.”

Documents obtained by The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, showed that the trucking company involved in the crash received previous citations for issues with its trucks, including defective brakes.

Truck driver faces several lawsuits

The estates of at least three of the victims who died in the crash have filed wrongful death lawsuits against a central Ohio trucking company and McDonald.

In the complaints, attorneys argued that Fyda Freightliner sold the semi-truck to Mid-State Systems — another trucking company — without standard safety systems. The attorneys said the semi-truck was not equipped with crash prevention safety systems that could have prevented the crash, and accused McDonald and the two companies of negligence.

The companies have denied responsibility for the crash.

Contributing: Emily DeLetter, USA TODAY; Bailey Gallion and Patrick Flaherty, The Columbus Dispatch

While the Ohio State Buckeyes are preparing for the upcoming 2024 college football season that will hopefully feature the first win over the Michigan Wolverines in three years, another massive story is circulating about their arch-rival.

It has been announced that Netflix will release a documentary about the Michigan cheating scandal involving former football analyst Connor Stalions.

As announced by Front Office Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter, the documentary will be released on August 27th as part of the UNTOLD series.

For those who may not know what happened with Michigan and Stallions, here’s a brief breakdown.

Stalions ended up resigning from the Wolverines last November. His resignation came from a massive allegation that he, along with others, were recording opponents and their sideline signals.

Due to the situation, former head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is now the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL, was suspended for three games. Despite the adversity and drama surrounding the team, Michigan did go on to win the National Championship.

Even though both Stalions and Harbaugh have both left the school since the allegations were made, the Wolverines are still under investigation by the NCAA. This documentary could be a major key in deciding what happens to Michigan.

Both Ohio State and Michigan fans are going to be very interested in tuning in to see what Stalions has to say. It will be his first opportunity to tell his side of the story in full.

Fans will want to make sure to watch the documentary when it’s released. It is a massive scandal and the outcome of the investigation has yet to be decided.

All of that being said, fans can tune in and find out a lot more about what happened, at least from Stalion’s side. The documentary is sure to be a massive hit for Netflix among college football fans.

Currently, two teams stand out atop the college football betting board.

Georgia is the favorite in 2024-25 College Football Playoff odds, in the first year of an expanded 12-team format. Ohio State is close behind as the No. 2 choice. Then comes Texas, Oregon, Alabama, Ole Miss and others. But South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews believes there’s a notable difference between the top two teams and the rest of the field.

“I’ve got Georgia and Ohio State a couple of points clear of everybody else in my power rankings,” Andrews said.

So South Point is offering an intriguing CFP championship prop bet: Georgia and Ohio State vs. every other FBS team. 

That’s 132 other teams in all, though, of course, only a handful are legitimate contenders.

Andrews and sharp college football bettor Paul Stone provide their insights on the market.

Let’s jump into the fun.

A Pick ‘Em Prop Bet

On July 17, Andrews decided to make his College Football Playoff oddsboard just a bit more attractive. Sure, you could take favored Georgia at +275, meaning a $100 bet could profit $275, for a $375 total payout. Or you could take Ohio State +300, with a $100 bet potentially profiting $300 ($400 total payout).

But why not both? So he posted Georgia or Ohio State to win the title, giving bettors the opportunity to take both teams. Or bettors can grab the rest of the field, which is attractive in its own right, with plenty of other stellar programs.

The price point: a -110 pick ‘em. So it would take a $110 bet on either side to profit $100 ($210 total payout). 

Stone said the odds are spot-on.

“When you look at a line, you ask yourself the question: which side do I like? And when you don’t see a side you like, then that means they probably made a pretty good line,” Stone said.

In standard CFP futures betting, Texas is the +700 third choice at South Point, followed by Oregon (+800), Alabama (+1200), and Ole Miss and LSU (both +1800). There’s certainly some firepower there, at least on paper.

Other teams will surely make their way into the mix as well, thanks to the expanded format. That includes name programs such as Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State and Oklahoma, and perhaps an under-the-radar team or two, such as Tennessee or Utah.

Is 2024 Ohio State’s year to win the National Championship?

Back-and-Forth Action

Andrews, an oddsmaker with a few decades of experience, won’t argue with Stone’s assessment. And as a pick ‘em bet might suggest, there’s action on both sides.

“The first bet came in on Ohio State/Georgia. So I moved five cents,” Andrews said of an adjustment to Ohio State/Georgia -115 and the rest of the field to -105. “But then money started coming back the other way, so we’re back to -110 on both sides. It looks like we’ve got a pretty good number.”

Andrews pointed to one key factor for singling out Georgia and Ohio State against the field.

“They both have a lot of depth. I don’t think one injury would really hurt either team, even at quarterback,” he said.

Joel Klatt sat down with Ohio State Buckeyes’ head coach Ryan Day.

Who To Pick

Stone will likely stay away from this prop bet, unconvinced that he’s got an edge on either side. But what if push came to shove, and he had to play it?

“I think Georgia and Ohio State are gonna be everybody’s 1 and 1A,” Stone said. “If forced to take one side or the other, I’d probably take the Georgia/Ohio State daily double, and let the other 132 teams take their shot.”

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.

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