Joseph faces a $100,000 cash or surety bond. Clark County Municipal Court Judge Daniel Carey last week cited Joseph’s risk for flight as the reason for the high bond.
If he posts bond, he will not be allowed to leave the county and will be required to wear a GPS monitoring device.
Investigators said Joseph was driving a 2010 Honda Odyssey about 8:15 a.m. Aug. 22 in the 4100 block of Troy Road (Ohio 41) at Lawrenceville when his minivan went left of the center line into the path of an oncoming school bus with 52 students and the driver aboard.
The bus driver attempted to avoid the Honda by driving onto the shoulder, but the bus still collided with the minivan. The bus and van went off the side of the road, with the bus rolling over.
Aiden Clark, 11, was ejected and died on the scene, and another student suffered life-threatening injuries. About two dozen more children were injured and taken to area medical centers for treatment.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Joseph presented to law enforcement a driver’s license from Mexico, which was invalid due to his immigration status, which assistant county prosecutor Greg Morris said previously is under investigation. He also had an Ohio identification card.
“The crash was a result of (Joseph) driving left of center, striking the school bus, forcing it off the roadway, down an embankment where it overturned and came to final rest,” a court document stated.
Joseph was taken into custody at the Clark County Jail on Wednesday afternoon.
Morris said last week that Joseph is registered as a Haitian immigrant in the state of Florida.
Joseph and his passenger in the minivan were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
All children who were hospitalized following the incident have been released.
Funeral services were held for Aiden on Monday, and 37 buses from across the state from as far away as Trumbull County in northern Ohio lined the road around Fellowship Church.
Aiden loved sports and learning, and he loved to garden vegetables with his dad, Nathan Clark, according to his obituary. He also enjoyed jumping on the trampoline with his sister, making Minecraft worlds with his older brother and snuggling with his mom, Danielle Clark.
According to his obituary, Aiden loved to play “old-school” board games, do word searches by flashlight in bed, play outdoor sports inside, chase his dog Daisy Mae and snuggle “with anyone.”
An online fundraiser and Meal Train for the Clark family had raised more than $90,000 as of Monday afternoon.
On Aiden’s obituary page, more than 100 people donated trees, flowers, money or offered condolences to the family.
“We didn’t know Aiden, but he mattered and will never be forgotten,” one person who donated a memorial tree said. “We are holding you all in our hearts now and always.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
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