Paul Steven Vojnovich is escorted from Columbiana County Municipal Court by Deputy John Scheets of the sheriff’s office after being sentenced to four months in jail for vehicular homicide in the 2023 death of James Ross Schmitt in East Liverpool. (Photo by Mary Ann Greier)

LISBON — A driver who struck and killed James Ross Schmitt as he was walking across St. Clair Avenue in East Liverpool in 2023 was ordered to serve 120 days in the county jail and lost his driver’s license for four years after an emotional sentencing hearing Monday.

“I’m so sorry for everything that happened. I wish them peace,” Paul Steven Vojnovich said toward Schmitt’s family prior to Columbiana County Municipal Court Judge Tim McNicol sentencing him.

Vojnovich, 70, Bank Street, East Liverpool, entered a no contest plea and was found guilty of vehicular homicide, a first-degree misdemeanor, earlier this month.

During the sentencing, he listened with assistance from a hearing device as Schmitt’s wife, Beth, son Sam and daughter Amy Kavanaugh expressed their sorrow and at times outrage over the forever life-changing event that happened to their family the evening of April 7, 2023 in the street in front of the family home.

He also listened as his own daughter, Sarah, and his brother-in-law Roger Burdick spoke on his behalf, not making excuses for what happened, but asking the judge to consider his age, medical issues and lifelong character of helping others in deciding the sentence.

“This is a difficult case,” McNicol said, offering his condolences to Schmitt’s family.

He said he considered the statements of everyone who addressed the court and the sentencing memorandums submitted by county Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Bonish and appointed defense attorney Zachary Miller.

McNicol said there’s no sentence that will ever seal the wound of this tragedy. He told the defendant he recognized the fact that he spared the Schmitt family having to go through a jury trial by pleading no contest. He also said he saw some remorse exhibited.

But what bothered McNicol was the inconsistencies, that the account given to police by Vojnovich didn’t line up with witness statements and the accident report. During his statement to police, he said he hit his brakes, but McNicol said there was no evidence of that, there were no skid marks. He also claimed that the victim entered the street from the home side, but it was clear from the evidence that the victim was coming from the gas station on the opposite side of the street.

After Vojnovich spoke, McNicol questioned him about whether he saw the victim or not and Vojnovich said he didn’t see him in time and that he froze up. He said he saw him but not in time to do anything.

“I couldn’t believe he kept walking. He just walked into my car,” Vojnovich said.

When the judge challenged him, repeating that he said the victim entered the road from the home side, but the evidence showed he was coming from the gas station, Vojnovich said he was confused and in shock when he talked to police.

McNicol said the idea that Vojnovich saw the victim take three to four steps before he hit him makes it hard for anyone to understand how this happened. He said, “I feel a significant sentence is warranted in this case.”

McNicol issued the maximum sentence possible for the charge, 180 days or six months, in the county jail, then suspended 60 days of the term, requiring him to go to jail for 120 days total. He also fined him $500, suspended his driver’s license for four years and said he would be on probation for two years. He must complete 40 hours community service.

When Miller asked for a report date for Vojnovich to go to jail so he could prepare, McNicol responded, “He’s had plenty of time to get ready for this day. He’s being taken into custody now.”

In her memorandum, Bonish did not make a recommendation for sentencing, but asked the court to consider all the information and exhibits and victim impact statements. She pointed out that all the witnesses said the defendant did not slow down or hit his brakes before striking the 76-year-old victim and the investigation corroborated the witness statements because no tire marks were found. He wasn’t using his cell phone and tested negative for illicit substances.

She also pointed out his driving history, which included 17 traffic offenses outside of Ohio since 1985 and three speeding convictions and a seat belt violation in Columbiana County and another seat belt violation in Jackson Municipal Court in Ohio. Prior to the fatal pedestrian accident, he was involved in traffic accidents in 1984, 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1997.

Miller said in his sentencing memorandum that while the facts of the incident were troubling, the Ohio State Highway Patrol crash reconstruction expert found that the defendant was traveling 35.8 miles per hour on a 35 mph street and speed did not play a factor.

He also claimed possible “contributory negligence on the victim’s behalf,” saying one witness said he had just purchased beer at the gas station. Evidence showed the defendant wasn’t using his cell phone at the time of the crash.

“This was not a case of malice, intoxication or willful recklessness, but rather a tragic event arising from a combination of environmental and human factors,” he wrote.

During the hearing, he said his client didn’t really have an explanation for how this happened. He wrote about his client’s remorse and lack of malice, asking the court for a sentence without incarceration, with house arrest or electronic monitoring and community service.

Schmitt’s wife, Beth, described in detail what she saw when she responded to the scene of the crash, how she saw the defendant sitting in his car and could see the impact of her husband’s body in the hood, She saw her husband’s cane laying in the street and his shoes. She wanted to see her husband and was told no at the scene and again where the ambulance met a helicopter and then when the ambulance arrived at East Liverpool City Hospital. About 20 minutes later, she was told by nurses that they were sorry. Ross was gone.

“Every day you just relive what you see and it’s hard to get past that,” she said.

She said her pastor told her that if you can’t forgive, turn it over to God.

“I’m turning your forgiveness over to God because I can’t ever forgive you for the rest of my life for what you did to our family,” Beth said.

Her son Sam also spoke about the loss of his father and shared how his mother had only been retired a week after serving the community for 30 years and had to recalibrate her life for an empty house without her husband.

“Those who loved him have been deprived of his final chapter in life,” Sam said.

The family has been coming to all of the hearings and he said he found the defendant’s jovial demeanor in front of his family during an earlier hearing unconscionable. He said he believed the defendant was sorry, sorry for the situation he found himself in.

He told Vojnovich that his father had been crossing that street for forty years. The only difference that day was Vojnovich was there. Like most accidents, it was preventable.

Amy Kavanaugh described her dad as her hero. She had spoken to him several times that day and then got the call about the accident. She assumed he was in a car, not on foot, and described the trauma she felt.

“I was so blessed to have Ross Schmitt as my dad,” she said.

She talked about him not being able to see her girls walk down the aisle or see her become a grandmother. She addressed Vojnovich and said she was sure he didn’t wake up that day intending to hit her father. She talked about his lack of compassion and accountability and prayed that he would receive the maximum sentence.

Vojnovich addressed the court and commented that the victim’s son was questioning how he couldn’t have seen his father walking, but “I wonder how his father couldn’t see my car on the road.”

He claimed he went into shock and after he was taken home, he described in detail how he was going to feed his rabbits and “what happened earlier that day hit me like a ton of bricks.”

He said he threw up and started crying and pacing, nibbled on crackers, and just kept crying and pacing all night. In the morning, he said he was a mess, went to Giant Eagle, and relayed how later he wanted to send flowers to the family after seeing the obituary and photo of the victim in the newspaper, but he wasn’t able to after trying to fill in the information on the funeral home website.

Crying, he said “that was the first time I saw his face.”

He said he was going to say he was sorry for the family’s loss and put his phone number in case they wanted to talk.

“I wanted to tell them how bad I feel,” Vojnovich said. “They’re going to miss their loved one for the rest their lives.”

His daughter, Sarah, said her dad was a man of family values, kindness and always stepping up for others. She talked about his health and being a diabetic. Vojnovich had talked about his health concerns also.

“My father has been devastated by this tragedy. This is something that will weigh on him for the rest of his life,” she said.

Burdick talked about his many years working in the state prison system and said he’s never seen any good come from incarcerating a senior citizen, especially one with comprised health.

mgreier@mojonews.com