MASON — Edward Traurig, who had never had so much as a traffic ticket, according to his lawyer, stood before a judge Tuesday accused of killing 87-year-old Sarah Josephson when his van careened into the lobby at Cedar Village retirement center.

        Mr. Traurig, who is charged with misdemeanor vehicular homicide — an offense that could send him to jail for up to six months — declined to comment about the Jan. 30 crash that also injured Mrs. Josephson's 93-year-old husband, Louis.

        Mr. Traurig's lawyer, Herb Haas, entered a plea of not guilty and secured an own-recognizance bond that allows his 65-year-old client to remain free on his promise to return for future hearings.

        Mr. Haas told Judge George Parker that the retired father of three had a clean driving record.

        Even so, Fred Goeddel, an attorney for the victim's family, said it's difficult for them to imagine how Mr. Traurig could “get an OR bond and simply walk out with little more than a ticket.”

        Police are calling the crash accidental.

        “There is nothing that I know of to indicate that it was anything more than an accident,” Chief Ron Ferrell said. Investigators said that Mr. Traurig lost control of the rented minivan and crashed into the lobby as he pulled up to the building to pick up his wife and other family members.

        The Josephsons were waiting in the lobby for a friend to join them there for lunch. Mrs. Josephson was seated in a wheelchair and was trapped under the van after the crash.

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