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Crash witnesses recall cries for help at reservoir in Yurich trial
Boat lighting focus of questions by defense
By Justin Wier
YOUNGSTOWN
In the second day of proceedings in the trial of Dr. Joseph Yurich, witnesses recalled hearing a loud boom and cries for help before rushing to the aid of those involved in a fatal boat crash on Berlin Reservoir in 2015.
Dr. Yurich, 38, of Poland faces several charges from the May 9, 2015, incident that left one man injured and another man dead.
The state called eight witnesses Tuesday, all of whom were near the lake at the time of the crash.
Many reported hearing a loud boom and a man screaming for help. Those who were closer heard a brief argument between two people before a speedboat left the scene.
Dustin Seese of Beloit was the first person to arrive at the crash site just after midnight. He was fishing with two others. Before learning there was a crash, he spotted a boat speeding across the lake.
“I looked at my buddy and said, ‘That guy is going to kill somebody,’” Seese told the court.
Moments later, he was attempting to rescue Neal Cuppett, 58, of Akron, who died.
A man who had climbed into the wrecked boat told Seese, “A big [expletive] boat just blew us out of the water, and I can’t find my friend.”
Seese attempted to perform CPR on Cuppett, but he was bleeding from the mouth and beginning to turn blue.
Todd Jones of Lake Milton recalled jumping onto a boat, locating the wrecked fishing boat and jumping in to help rescue Cuppett.
Jones, Seese and others loaded Cuppett onto the back of a boat and transported him to a bait shop near the crash site.
Jennifer Kingsley of Akron was fishing on the shore at the time of the incident.
“A speedboat came really fast across the lake, and then we heard a really big boom,” she said.
She reported hearing two men arguing about lights on the boat, and then a man calling for his friend.
A man and woman walking up from the shore with the woman’s son also heard a loud noise followed by an argument.
Constantine Covert of Atwater has worked in hospitals, but she was unable to get to those in the crash.
“I felt horrible that I couldn’t do anything to help this man but make the 911 call,” she said.
Covert got the attention of Seese and those he was fishing with and directed them to the wrecked fishing boat.
Several witnesses who encountered Dr. Yurich at a dock near the north end of the lake just before the crash said he left the dock at a high rate of speed.
Much of the defense’s questioning revolved around whether the boat Cuppett was on had lights on it.
In Monday’s testimony, Bruce Lindamood of Green, who was injured in the crash, insisted the boat was properly lit.
On Tuesday, some witnesses reported seeing lights on the boat, but others said they couldn’t recall whether there were lights.
The trial will resume at 10 a.m. today, and the prosecution plans to include expert testimony from the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation.