LISBON — A Salineville man whose jury trial for aggravated vehicular homicide is set to begin Tuesday wants a possession of cocaine charge separated from the case.

Donald E. White, 65, state Route 164, was issued a superseding indictment in June that included not just the original charges related to the fatal accident which killed a 13-year-old boy on a bicycle last fall, but also the drug charge for the day after the accident.

The charges against him include aggravated vehicular homicide, a third-degree felony, two charges of failure to stop after an accident, one a second-degree felony and the other a third-degree felony, and possession of cocaine, a fifth-degree felony.

White is accused of striking Aidan Wollman with his truck and causing his death while the Columbiana eighth grader was riding his bicycle accompanied by another boy along state Route 164 on Oct. 23, 2021. The pickup truck allegedly driven by White left the scene and was later found abandoned with damage. The cocaine charge stems from Oct. 24, 2021, the day after the alleged hit and run.

Previous trial dates had been set and were postponed, first when the defendant challenged the blood evidence and then twice due to the unavailability of witnesses for the prosecution. The last continuance involved the first trooper on the scene being on active military duty.

Defense attorney James Wise filed the motion to sever the drug count to have it tried separately, saying a jury could be misled by testimony needed to find the defendant guilty of possession of cocaine and then using the evidence to convict the defendant on the other charges.

In the state’s response to the request to sever the cocaine count, county Assistant Prosecutor Steve Yacovone noted that the foundation for the drug charge was learning the defendant allegedly drove to Youngstown to purchase the drugs after the accident. The drugs were allegedly found in his possession at his residence.

Yacovone argued the acts were connected and all occurred in one night last October. He said evidence for each crime will be presented in such a way not to confuse or mislead the jury.

According to his written response to the motion to sever, the state plans to introduce evidence of the cocaine possession to corroborate statements the defendant and other witnesses made that night, including the drive to Mahoning County to purchase illicit drugs.

“Further, the evidence of the possession of cocaine reveals the defendant’s mental state after driving and striking a child. Specifically, it shows the defendant’s attitude toward the crime he had just committed in that his greatest concern was driving to Mahoning County to purchase drugs after a child had been struck by his vehicle,” Yacovone wrote.

The case remains set for trial Tuesday morning before Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton.