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WARREN -- An Aug. 28 jury trial date is set for a Kentucky woman accused of rear-ending an elderly Leavittsburg couple in an accident that sent the pair to a hospital.
Josephine Steele, 52, of Frankfort, appeared with her attorney Ross Smith before Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Cynthia W. Rice, where Steele rejected a plea deal and opted for a jury trial.
A potential plea deal offered by Assistant Prosecutor Michael A. Burnett would have given Steele a nine-month sentence for both accident victims, that would run consecutively for a total of 18 months imprisonment.
With the case now heading to trial, she faces the potential of a six-year prison sentence for the two counts of aggravated vehicular assault.
Smith said after the hearing that a blood-alcohol test would have been the evidence they sought to suppress from being used in court.
The night of the accident Steele had a blood-alcohol level of .31 percent, which is well above the legal limit in Ohio of 0.08 percent.
Steele said in denying the plea deal, she wants to prove her innocence for her role in the accident.
Prosecutors state the case involves a Dec. 7, 2022, crash on West Market Street that severely injured a couple in their late 70s. A police report states that Steele admitted to police she was impaired at the time of the accident -- telling them, "you and I both know I'm (expletive) up. I'm not even sorry, (expletive) them old people, they can't even drive."
Sharon Burrows' injuries included a cut to her leg and ankle bruises that required her to use a walker, a report stated.
Her husband's injuries were more serious. A report stated William Burrows stayed in a hospital's intensive care unit for more than a month. He faced multiple surgeries and was moved to a long-term care facility on a ventilator.