CLARK COUNTY — A judge in Clark County has come to a decision on whether the case against the driver involved in a deadly school bus crash should move out of the county.
Last week, Judge Douglas Rastatter ruled that Hermanio Joseph’s case would stay in Clark County, according to Clark County Common Pleas Court records.
>> PHOTOS: Student killed in school bus crash in Clark County
The decision came less than three weeks after Joseph’s attorney filed a motion to change venue, claiming that it would be “impossible to seat an impartial jury” in the county.
“At this point in time, the Court has no reason to believe that a fair and impartial trial cannot be held in Clark County,” Rastatter wrote in his decision.
The judge noted in his decision that he would be open to reconsideration if it appears a fair and impartial trial cannot be held during jury selection.
As News Center 7 previously reported, Joseph was charged with vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter on Aug. 29. The charges stem from the deadly crash involving a van and a Northwestern Local Schools bus on Aug. 22.
>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Attorney for driver involved in deadly bus crash asks that case be moved out of Clark County
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Joseph was driving a Honda Odyssey that crossed left of center on state Route 41 (Troy Road), near Lawrenceville Road, and hit the bus.
The bus, driven by 68-year-old Alfred Gene Collier, also of Springfield, then traveled off the right side of the roadway, down an embankment, and overturned.
Aiden Clark, 11, was killed in the crash.
As many as 26 other children on the bus suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to area hospitals. One of them suffered serious, life-threatening injuries and was taken to Children’s Hospital in Dayton. Collier suffered minor injuries but was not taken to a hospital.