MAHONING COUNTY Teen faces no felonies in fatal car crash

The driver still could face misdemeanor charges.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A teenager who was behind the wheel of a car in which three other teens died when it crashed last month in Mill Creek Park will not face felony charges.
A Mahoning County grand jury declined to hand up an indictment Thursday against Christiaen A. Lively, 18, of Parkwood Avenue.
Prosecutor Paul Gains said the matter now will be sent back to Youngstown Municipal Court, where Lively still could face misdemeanor charges from the March 27 fatal accident.
Lively, a senior at Cardinal Mooney High School, was driving a 1992 Chevrolet Lumina that crashed on West Cohasset Drive, ramming head-on into boulders that serve as a guardrail along Axe Factory Run bridge.
The posted speed limit in that area is 25 mph, but police said the car was traveling more than 55 mph.
The passengers
Anthony C. Childs, 18, of East Dewey Avenue; Isiah M. Thomas, 16, of St. Louis Avenue; and Amanda M. Ferraro, 16, of New Road, Austintown, were passengers in the car and died of injuries they suffered in the accident.
Three other teenage passengers were injured but survived. They are Lia Kovalchik, 16, and her sister, Karla Kovalchik, 14, and Colleen E. Casey, 17, all of Sandburg Drive, Austintown.
City Prosecutor Dionne Almasy had asked that the matter be presented directly to the grand jury for possible felony charges against Lively, instead of originating charges in municipal court.
No alcohol, drugs
Gains said the panel declined to indict Lively on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault because there is no evidence that alcohol or drugs were a factor in the accident, which would be necessary to prove the felony charges.
He said the file now will be returned to municipal court for consideration of possible misdemeanor charges. Almasy could not be reached to comment.
bjackson@vindy.com