Canton man pleads not guilty to charges in fatal December crash
NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ The driver accused of causing a fatal collision on Interstate 77 near Bolivar pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to five charges.
Craig J. Hanslik, 53, of Canton, entered the pleas to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated drug trafficking, aggravated drug possession and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The grand jury indicted him in March.
Crash report: Tuscarawas County prosecutor to review Bolivar fatal crash report that killed Canton man
He is accused of being impaired when he drove his 2009 Lincoln MKZ off the right side of the road and hit the rear of a disabled 2009 Honda Pilot SUV.
The crash killed Canton resident Christopher T. Peters, 38, who was inside the Honda on the west berm of the southbound lanes of the interstate around 11:48 p.m. Dec. 29, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Hanslik appeared for arraignment by video link from the county jail Wednesday. He was transported from the Lake Erie Correctional Institution, where he is serving at least three years on a drug trafficking charge out of Stark County, according to Assistant County Prosecutor Fred Scott.
Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos set a pretrial conference for May 8, at which time she will schedule a trial.
The judge appointed the Tuscarawas County Public Defender's Office to represent Hanslik. He was represented Wednesday by Nicole Stephan from that office.
Hanslik had 140 grams, nearly five ounces, of methamphetamine in his car, according to Sgt. William Bower of the highway patrol. The crash report said the defendant had amphetamine in his blood.
Bower said Peters was waiting for a tow truck when the crash occurred.
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Craig J. Hanslik pleads not guilty to charges he caused I-77 death
