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YOUNGSTOWN -- A Boardman man will spend close to five years in prison for a hit-and-run crash that killed a Youngstown man on the South Side in September 2025.
The Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office announced the decision by Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Donofrio.
Laird Bruner, 43, of Boardman, will serve 59 months in prison, after pleading guilty July 6 to one count each of aggravated vehicular homicide and failure to stop after a crash, both third-degree felonies, the office said in a news release. The charges carried the potential for Bruner to spend up to eight years behind bars. Donofrio also ordered that Bruner's driver's license be suspended for three years from the time of his release.
The collision killed Joseph Novacich, 53, of Youngstown, who was walking along Loveland Road. The police report states Bruner initially stopped at the scene but quickly drove away. He was arrested Oct. 2 by the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force and was later released on a $200,000 bond.
Video of the crash and interviews of witnesses by The Vindicator indicated that Novacich was walking north along the right side of Loveland Road near Pointview Avenue and Elmo's Tire when Bruner's vehicle, heading southeast on Powers Way, went through the three-way intersection at Loveland, Buckeye Circle and Powers Way. He then moved into the left lane to pass a car in front of him.
The road curves to the right, and Bruner was passing toward oncoming traffic when he encountered Novacich, who turned to his right and tried to move quickly into the devil strip when Bruner 's vehicle struck him.
A witness who saw the crash called it "horrible." He was one of two people who were only about 30 feet away from Novacich when the crash occurred.
"It was traumatizing," he said.
Novacich flew toward the windshield and into the air as Bruner's car continued south through a second front yard, then through a metal fence between that house and the next house. Novacich and the car came to rest in front of the third house. Bruner's vehicle stopped when it hit a trailer parked in the front yard. A witness said Bruner backed his car and re-entered Loveland Road.
The intersection has signs indicating the speed limit in the intersection is 25 mph. It turns into a 35 mph area south of the intersection, but one witness said the driver was going 40 mph or 45 mph when he struck Novacich.
Court records show that a little more than two months before the crash, Bruner was cited for failure to yield right-of-way on a highway.
Records also show a civil lawsuit has been filed by Novacich's estate against Bruner, Youngstown Auto Sales, Progressive Insurance and several other anonymous defendants.