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Friend, bartender say Yurich drank before fatal boat crash
By Justin Wier
YOUNGSTOWN
The prosecution Wednesday called a friend of Dr. Joseph Yurich’s and a bartender who served him the night of a fatal Berlin Reservoir boat crash in 2015 to establish that Dr. Yurich had been drinking before the crash.
Both witnesses said Dr. Yurich was not visibly impaired.
Andrew Crogan, a friend who was in Dr. Yurich’s wedding, said shortly after Dr. Yurich left a boat dock near his camper, Crogan was told to turn his music down because there had been a large explosion and someone was crying for help. Crogan went out to assist. While on his way, he received a call from Dr. Yurich.
“He said he believed he hit something, and it wasn’t good,” Crogan told the court.
Dr. Yurich, 38, of Poland, faces several charges stemming from the May 9, 2015, incident that left one man injured and another dead.
Crogan also testified that Dr. Yurich had consumed two beers and a shot at a restaurant a few hours earlier.
That was confirmed by restaurant surveillance footage. It showed Dr. Yurich and his friends, including Crogan, arriving at the restaurant’s bar at 9:47 p.m. and leaving at 10:51 p.m. In that time, Dr. Yurich consumed two beers and one shot.
The bartender said the shot was a “little beer.” which consists of Licor 43 and heavy whipping cream. Licor 43 is 31 percent alcohol by volume.
The crash occurred shortly after midnght.
After the accident, Crogan said he talked to Dr. Yurich’s wife, who said she was worried about Dr. Yurich.
Crogan and two friends went to Dr. Yurich’s house on the lake. Crogan said Dr. Yurich was pale and seemed scared. It was around that time Dr. Yurich’s wife called police.
Last fall, Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court excluded blood and urine samples taken from the doctor on the night of the accident because they went unrefrigerated for more than 62 hours, a violation of state law.
In the post-crash sample, Dr. Yurich had a blood-alcohol content of 0.152, nearly double the legal limit of 0.08, a toxicologist reported.
Lt. Greg Johnson, chief of detectives with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office, said he made no attempt to refrigerate the sample because he wasn’t aware of the requirement, a judgement entry noted.
The prosecution plans to call Johnson to the stand today. The night of the accident, Dr. Yurich told Johnson he had “a couple” of beers before the crash and didn’t mean to kill anyone, according to a court filing.
The state will continue to call witnesses today, which will include investigators and physical evidence from the crash.