Parents of 11-Year-Old Speak Out About Politicization of Ohio School Bus Death

October 31, 2024

The parents of an 11-year-old boy who was involved in a fatal school bus crash in Springfield, Ohio, in August 2023, are speaking out about their son’s death, reported WLWT 5.

Aidan Clark was killed when he was ejected from his school bus as he and 51 other students were on their way to the first day of school on Aug. 23, 2023. A minivan traveling in the opposite direction crossed over the center line and caused the crash, which broke the school bus rear axle and caused it to overturn. It was the first on-board school bus fatality in Ohio since 2010.

Following the incident, Gov. Mike DeWine called for the Ohio Department of Public Safety to form a school bus safety working group to debate the topic of school bus seatbelts and other safety topics. After meeting several times last fall and hearing from a range of safety experts and school bus operators, the working group issued 17 recommendations on school bus safety, the majority of them focused on school bus drivers and training available to them, maintenance professionals and the community.

The van that crashed into the school bus was driven by Hermanio Joseph, a 36-year-old Haitian immigrant, who was found guilty on counts of felony involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide by a Clark County jury in May. He was sentenced to 9 to 13.5 years in prison with credit for time already served.

Nathan Clark, Aiden’s father, alleges politicians are using his son’s name and death for political gain this election season.

Mr. Clark said Aiden, who was 11 at the time, was not murdered but was accidentally killed. He also emphasized that the last thing his family wants is to continuously relive the worst day of their lives.

Joseph was found by investigators to only have a state ID card and a Mexico driver’s license at the time of the crash. He said that because he lives in the U.S. under temporary protected status for Haitians he did not have the proper documents to get his Ohio driver’s license. He also claimed the sun was in his eyes, causing him to drift into the opposite lane and strike the school bus.