DAKOTA CITY, Neb. (AP) – An Iowa man is scheduled to go on trial Sept. 22, charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in northeast Nebraska. Forty-five-year-old Christopher Cox,  of Council Bluffs, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a Dakota City courtroom. Authorities say Cox’s car ran off U.S. Highway 20 west of Jackson on Thursday and struck a concrete creek barrier. He told officers he swerved to avoid hitting a deer.

Two of his passengers died at the scene: 57-year-old Connie Fauzae and 9-year-old Espinoza Lara, both of Council Bluffs, Iowa. A third passenger died later at a Sioux City, Iowa, hospital: 10-year-old Jose Lara, also of Council Bluffs. Cox was treated for minor injuries.