Woman to appear in court in vehicular-homicide case

Staff report

STRUTHERS

A woman who is charged with vehicular homicide in the death of a Springfield Township man will be in court next week for a pre-trial hearing.

Whitney Yaeger, 20, will appear Wednesday at 1 p.m. in front of visiting Judge Diane Vettori.

State police report Yaeger was driving on Middletown Road when she ran over Dave Muslovski, 55, of Unity Road as he was taking an early-morning walk June 17.

Yaeger told a state trooper she was texting while driving and did not see Muslovski, who was on the side of the road.

He was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center, where he died early that afternoon.

Muslovski was the owner of a family-run business — Iron City Wood Products in Campbell.

His daughter, Tina Yanssens, has said her father was health-conscious after losing a great deal of weight and always took a morning walk.

Since her father’s death, Yanssens has taken up the cause of making texting while driving illegal in Ohio.

She said she believes Yaeger should have been charged with a felony rather than a misdemeanor.

Yaeger pled innocent to the charge, a first-degree misdemeanor, June 28.

Struthers Municipal Judge James R. Lanzo has recused himself from the case. Lanzo said he has known the Muslovski family for a long time, and he is representing Muslovski’s wife, Denise, in a civil action regarding her husband’s death.