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Poland surgeon indicted in fatal boat crash
YOUNGSTOWN
A Mahoning County grand jury has indicted a local surgeon on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault and operating a watercraft while impaired in a May 9 crash.
Indicted Thursday was Dr. Joseph F. Yurich, 36, of Hunters Hill, Poland.
The crash involved two boats on Berlin Reservoir that killed one man and injured another.
The charge of aggravated vehicular homicide, a second-degree felony, pertains to the death of Neal B. Cuppett, 58, of Akron; and the charge of aggravated vehicular assault, a third-degree felony, pertains to injuries to Cuppett’s fishing buddy, Bruce Lindamood, 42, of Green.
Lindamood was treated at Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna.
The indictment said Dr. Yurich had a blood-alcohol content of 0.08, the legal intoxication threshold, at the time of the 12:20 a.m. crash.
The charge of operating a watercraft while impaired is a first-degree misdemeanor.
The Portage County Coroner’s Office ruled Cuppett’s death from internal injuries accidental due to blunt-force trauma.
“It’s a tragedy. The evidence indicates crimes were committed, and we’re going to ensure that justice is done,” said Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains, who declined to comment on details of the case.
As to why the indictment was delayed so long after the crash, Gains said his office was awaiting reports from multiple jurisdictions, namely the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Portage County sheriff’s and coroner’s offices.
“You have multiple jurisdictions outside Mahoning County” that investigated the case, he noted.
The reservoir straddles Mahoning and Portage counties, but most of it is in Portage County.
Portage County authorities investigated the crash because it initially was believed to have occurred in Portage County waters, but the case was indicted here because it now appears the crash occurred in Mahoning County, Gains said.
Cuppett and Lindamood occupied a 16-foot Bass Tracker boat, which was struck by a 17-foot Bayliner, which ODNR said was owned and operated by Dr. Yurich.
The fishing boat was stationary and lighted, authorities said.
Many people heard the crash, yelled for help and called 911; and several responded by boat, pulling two men out of the water, an ODNR report said. The ODNR report said alcohol was involved.
Dr. Yurich is a general surgeon with a Boardman office, affiliated with St. Elizabeth Health Center.
A 2004 graduate of Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, he received his initial medical license in 2008.
Dr. Yurich could not be reached for comment.