Kentucky Man Convicted in Bus Crash That Killed 27

Larry Mahoney was convicted Thursday of 27 counts of second-degree manslaughter in the nation’s deadliest alcohol-related traffic crash, which claimed the lives of 27 people riding home from a church outing.

The jury also convicted Mahoney on 12 counts of first-degree assault and all but one of the 42 wanton endangerment counts he was charged with in connection with the fiery crash on May 14, 1988.

“I accept your verdict,” Mahoney later told jurors, and collapsed in tears.

Mahoney, a 36-year-old chemical plant worker, escaped a possible life sentence when the jury opted for the less-serious charge of manslaughter, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five to 10 years. He had been charged with 27 murder counts, but the jurors had the option of two lesser charges.

The only acquittal was on a charge of wanton endangerment of Clint Bradley, a motorist whose car nearly was struck by Mahoney’s pickup, which was traveling the wrong way down an interstate highway.

Defense attorneys had acknowledged that Mahoney was drinking on the day of the accident; however, they argued that a defective bus design was the primary cause of the deaths, and that he had been tricked into drunkenness.

The jury deliberated about 11 hours and returned shortly before 4 p.m., when the lengthy verdict was read in Carroll County Circuit Court. Jurors decided to begin immediately the penalty phase of the trial, in which they would make a sentencing recommendation to Circuit Judge Charles Satterwhite.

Mahoney took the witness stand during the sentencing hearing and told the jurors that he intended, after prison, to warn schoolchildren of the dangers of drinking and driving.

“I know God kept me alive for a reason,” an emotional Mahoney said. “I want you to know I don’t feel bad toward you in any way.”

If at least one schoolchild heeds his warning, Mahoney said, “at least that will be one life saved.”

After the one-hour hearing, the jury decided to quit for the night and resume work on its sentencing recommendation today.

Besides the manslaughter penalty, Mahoney could be punished more severely for first-degree assault, which carries a possible sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison. First-degree wanton endangerment is punishable by one to five years in prison.

The judge decides whether the prison sentences are served at the same time or consecutively.

Mahoney bowed his head slightly, his eyes fixed on the table top before him as the judge slowly read the verdict on each of the 82 counts.

Mahoney’s sister, Judy O’Donovan, patted him and whispered to him before he was led from the courtroom. O’Donovan later said she told him “that everything’s going to be all right and that I love him.”

On the other side of the courtroom, crash survivors and victims’ families also reacted emotionally, some covering their mouths or touching and holding one another for support.

Before he read the verdicts, Satterwhite warned spectators that “there should be no outbursts.”

He advised all those in the courtroom to envision the worst verdict from each person’s standpoint, prepare themselves “and if you don’t think you can handle it, leave the courtroom now.” No one left.