FRANKLIN — Eighteen witnesses took the stand Wednesday during the first day of the trial for the Marshburg man accused in the fatal hit-and-run that claimed the life of Dakota Heinaman in 2015.

Paul Morrisroe, 40, of Sunny Lane, is facing charges including homicide by motor vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol. A truck allegedly driven by Morrisroe struck a motorcycle operated by Heinaman, causing his death, according to police. Morrisroe left the scene without stopping, police allege.

The day began with opening statements from both District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg Shaffer and defense attorney Robert Kinnear. She described the day of June 2, 2015, in the hours before the crash. “Morrisroe had been at the (Rixford) Well drinking,” she said. Someone at the bar offered to take him home, but he declined. He left the bar behind the wheel of the truck, she said, but added that the defense would likely argue someone else was driving, like Morrisroe’s passenger, Charlie Bailey, who killed himself the day after the crash.

When Kinnear gave his opening statement, that’s exactly what he suggested. “They did everything they could to get my client here and not investigate Charlie Bailey because he was dead,” Kinnear said. “The truth at the end of this was my client was not the driver and he was not impaired. It was an accident. It was not criminal.”

In an emotional day of testimony, the jury heard tapes of the calls made to the McKean County 911 Center from the scene of the crash; from the victim’s mother, who heard the crash and ran outside to help before learning it was her son; from the first people on the scene who watched helplessly as Heinaman lay dying in the middle of Route 646; and from people who either saw Morrisroe drinking at the bar in Rixford, or driving his truck in the time leading up to the crash.

“I actually heard an impact of some sort,” testified Dawn James, the victim’s mother. “As I was walking out the driveway I saw Dakota’s bike laying by the road.”

Tears streaming down her face, she continued, “I started yelling ‘no no not Dakota!’ I remember giving him a kiss on the cheek and telling him I loved him.

“I put my hand under his cheek and when I pulled it back it was full of blood. I remember saying ‘somebody help him he can’t breathe,’” she said, crying.

“Where did Dakota die?” Shaffer asked.

“In the road right there,” James said. Several jurors were visibly emotional at the testimony.

A few more witnesses testified about Bailey, saying they had known him for years and never saw him drive. Several witnesses were called to testify about seeing Morrisroe drinking gin and tonics throughout the day at the bar in Rixford.

Bartenders who had served him stopped short of saying he was drunk, but several patrons talked about him being loud, stumbling and staggering before he left the bar. Patrons also discussed seeing Morrisroe get in the driver’s seat of the truck, while Bailey was a passenger. Shaffer asked them if there was a physical difference between Morrisroe and Bailey.

One woman said Bailey was a “very, very small man” with a slight build and standing about 5’6”, while Morrisroe has a large, stocky frame and stands about 6’2”. “A huge difference,” she said.

Witness Codie Bennett said Morrisroe was very intoxicated, and she saw him “urinating in the front yard of the Well. Directly in the yard — no tree, no building, just the yard.”

Next to the stand was Sean Bacha, who said he had been at the intersection of routes 646 and 246 the night of the crash and saw Morrisroe drive by him. “You told police you don’t care much for him,” Shaffer said to Bacha. “Yes,” he replied. She then asked if he had told police he didn’t want to be involved in the case. “Correct,” he replied.

She asked him what nickname he called Morrisroe. Bacha replied, “Big Head.”

Under cross examination, Kinnear suggested Bacha was there because “you’ve had a hatred of my client since the 1990s.”

“I don’t have a hatred. I just dislike him,” Bacha replied.

Kinnear said Bacha’s cell phone records showed he was in Smethport or Port Allegany at the time he said he saw Morrisroe at the intersection. “So the science has to be wrong?” Kinnear said.

“I don’t know about the science,” Bacha said, but added he had more than one phone and mobile device and said he couldn’t recall what one he may have been using.

“You have a very selective memory Mr. Bacha,” Kinnear said.

He asked about a “logging deal that went bad” with Morrisroe’s parents, suggesting Bacha disliked the entire family. Bacha explained the deal, but added it was handled through a realtor and attorneys. “I never had animosity about it or anything else.”

Shaffer then called to the stand several witnesses who were in the Cyclone area at the time of the crash. One man said he saw the truck driving away, another said he heard the crash, while another said he had walked the path he assumed the hit-and-run truck had gone and picked up a piece of tire.

Perhaps one of the most emotional witnesses of the day was Cody Pearce, the first person who came upon the scene of the crash. He had served in the military, he explained, and at the time of the crash was a guard at the Federal Correctional Institution-McKean.

He blocked the road with his truck and ran to check on the motorcycle crash victim. “Blood was coming out of his eyes, his nose and his mouth. Pink frothy blood was coming out of his mouth, signifying to me he had a punctured lung.

“The back of his head had been drug on the blacktop,” he said, adding that he had grievous wounds to his head.

Several people in the courtroom started to cry.

“By the time the EMTs had arrived, his pulse was stopped,” Pearce said.

Kinnear’s only question was whether Pearce saw the driver or passenger in the truck when it went by him before he came upon the crash scene. Pearce replied, “Negative.”

Jeff Eshbaugh took the stand, then described he had heard the crash and went to his front door in time to see the truck speed by. He saw a silhouette of the driver, he said, later telling police, “I thought the guy driving had a rather large cranium.”

The last witness for the day was Trooper Cody Northcott, who was called to authenticate and explain the crime scene entry log from the night of the crash.

Also on Wednesday, one female juror was excused and replaced by a male alternate. Judge John Pavlock did not explain a reason for the change.

The trial will resume at 8:15 a.m. today.