YOUNGSTOWN - Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a Canfield man charged with a fatal DUI accident, which has been delayed four times due to COVID-19 concerns.

Mahoning County Common Please Court Judge Maureen Sweeney told potential jurors not to follow social media, newspaper, or other news coverage of the case of 30-year-old Michael Malvasi.

Malvasi is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, failure to stop after an accident, tampering with evidence, and driving under the influence.

The Timber Run Drive resident is charged in the Nov. 18, 2017, automobile crash on Shields Road in Canfield that killed passenger Ryan Lanzo, 23, of Boardman. He is accused of being the driver of the vehicle and intoxicated at the time of the crash, accused of failing to stop after the accident and tampering with evidence.

According to investigators, while being evaluated by EMS, Malvasi II stated that he had consumed alcohol and marijuana. Troopers say blood work was drawn which showed Malvasi had a blood alcohol content level of .075%.

In July, Judge Sweeney ruled in favor of Malvasi’s attorneys who argued that blood samples were not taken in a timely manner, and thus could not be used in the trial.

However, Sweeney overruled the defense claim that investigators did not have sufficient probable cause to search Malvasi’s SUV, phone, and Snapchat records. That evidence will be allowed during a trial.

Malvasi is also named as the defendant in a negligence lawsuit filed by members of Lanzo's family.