Detective John Riley said the glare was blinding but the test kayak was visible most of the time.
NORTHAMPTON - A state police detective testified in Hampshire Superior Court Thursday that he was blinded by the glare of the sun on Lake Norwich when he and a police team attempted to recreate the boat collision that took the life of Augustus Adamopoulos
State Police Detective John Riley also said that for most of the time the police officer in the kayak simulating the one Adamopoulos was in was visible on the Huntington Lake.
Riley’s testimony took place during the third day of the trial of Stephen B. Morse, 37, of Westfield. He is charged with manslaughter, boat homicide by reckless operation while under the influence of alcohol, boat homicide by reckless operation and child endangerment while under the influence in connection with the Ludlow boy’s death.
Adamopoulos, 10, and his father, James Adamopoulos, were fishing on the lake in the early evening of August 17, 2010, when the power boat, operated by Morse, ran over their kayak. Augustus, known to his friends and family as Gus, suffered fatal injuries.