Opening arguments started yesterday in the bench trial of a Van Etten man charged with manslaughter. 19-year-old James Crosby was the driver in a car crash last New Year’s Eve in Newfield that killed two people. His passenger 20-year-old Derek Nichols from Spencer and the passenger in the second car, Kathy Lattimore died in that crash. Crosby has waived his right to a jury trial, instead opting for a bench trial in Tompkins County court.
