Sentencing date set for hit and run driver that killed Cortland jogger

Brittany Szwedko

A date has been scheduled to sentence a Cortland man convicted of charges stemming from the traffic death of a woman who was jogging along a Fowler Township road last year.

Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Peter Kontos on Thursday set an August 28 sentencing hearing for Russell Lauer, III.

Lauer, 43, could be sentenced to eight years in prison as part of a deal where he pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, failure to stop after an accident, DUI and failing to stay within marked lanes.

Twenty-seven-year-old Brittany Szwedko of Cortland died three days after witnesses say she was struck by a Chevy Trail Blazer as she was jogging along Ridge Road in February of last year.

Prosecutors say Lauer was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time.