Judge denies stay of minivan driver’s sentence during appeal in fatal school bus crash

The bus flipped on its top, and Aiden Clark, 11, was ejected and killed.

About two dozen other students were injured on the bus that had 52 children aboard. It was the first day of school.

Joseph’s appeal was filed in the Second District Court of Appeals. Terry Hart, his lawyer, filed a motion to stay the execution of his sentence “to allow his appeal to go forward.”

Assistant Clark County Prosecutor Kevin Miller said in a court filing opposing the stay of Joseph’s sentence that in accordance with prior rulings, before conviction a defendant is presumed innocent and the state has the burden of proof, but after conviction, it is on the convicted to prove the conviction was in error.

“The state argues that the defendant is a major flight risk and, if released on bond, the defendant will not return to the court,” Miller wrote.

Miller wrote that Joseph through his testimony admitted ties to multiple foreign countries, “and should he flee, the likelihood of his return is very low.”

Judge Douglas Rastatter ruled against Joseph’s request to stay Joseph’s sentence, pending the appeal.

During the trial, Joseph testified through an interpreter he has a Mexican driver’s license and Ohio ID card, but no Ohio driver’s license.

A prosecution witness, Sydney King, Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles policy advisor, testified that Joseph did not have an Ohio driver’s license, but he did have a state identification card. She said an Ohio ID requires a person to establish residency in the state.

Joseph testified he has temporary protected status and did not get an Ohio driver’s license because he did not have the necessary documents.

This is what the prosecution argued elevated his vehicular homicide to a felony.

The man said he was born in Haiti and has a spouse and four children. He said he left Haiti in 2014, traveling to Brazil, then Chile, then to Mexico in 2022, where he obtained a Mexican driver’s license. Joseph said he arrived in Texas, flew to Ohio and settled in Springfield.

Joseph testified he was driving east and saw the school bus, but when he hit a curve on the road, he was blinded by the sun despite the car’s sun visor being down.

Joseph testified he attempted to apply the brakes prior to the crash. He said through an interpreter he did not have the chance to “make the right decision” and avoid the crash.