LISBON, Ohio - A Canfield man facing trial for a deadly traffic accident has been denied a request to suppress his alleged admission to a State Trooper that he was distracted while watching sports highlights before the crash.

Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton on Wednesday denied a motion from a defense attorney to suppress the Ohio Highway Patrol’s recorded interview with 28-year-old Lowell Horst, who is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.

According to a court document, Horst told a State Trooper he was watching sports highlights on his phone, stating it was a distraction leading up to the head-on crash between his pickup truck and an SUV along Route 172 near Zepernick Lake on September 23 of last year. Judge Bickerton found that Lowell submitted to the interview voluntarily.

The truck went left-of-center, running into an SUV being driven by 81-year-old Mary Coss of Massillon who died in the crash.

Another motion hearing in the case is scheduled for September 25, with a trial set for February of next year.