MILL CREEK PARK ACCIDENT Charged, driver turns himself in

Felony convictions mean one to five years in prison on each count.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Just after dawn today Christiaen A. Lively, the driver whose three friends died when his speeding car crashed in Mill Creek Park, turned himself in to police.
Lively, 18, of Parkwood Avenue, was accompanied to the police station at 6:30 a.m. by his Youngstown attorney, Jeff Kurz. Warrants charging Lively with three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of aggravated vehicular assault were filed Wednesday by City Prosecutor Dionne M. Almasy.
Lively arrived at the Mahoning County jail at 7:20 a.m. to be booked and fingerprinted. He was to remain there until arraigned by Municipal Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly via video.
The judge, after setting bond, was to schedule a preliminary hearing date.
Kurz declined to say whether he would waive the hearing and have his client's case bound over to a Mahoning County grand jury.
Last month, a grand jury considered the case against Lively, a senior at Cardinal Mooney High School, but declined to indict him after hearing evidence from a park police officer only. Almasy had recommended that the case be directly presented to the grand jury, which eliminated the need for charges to be filed in municipal court.
On March 27 at 11:40 p.m., Lively's 1992 Chevrolet Lumina was traveling around 57 mph on West Cohasset Drive when it rammed head-on into boulders that line Axe Factory Run bridge. The posted speed is 25 mph.
No drugs or alcohol were involved.
Prosecutor's charge
Almasy has charged that Lively, who failed to slow down after being asked by passengers, drove recklessly. Also, he was speeding in the dark park down a winding road into a bend and had more passengers than the car could safely accommodate.
If convicted of felonies, the potential penalty is one to five years in prison on each count and a $10,000 fine, Almasy has said.
Killed in the March 27 crash were Anthony C. Childs, 18, of East Dewey Avenue and Isiah M. Thomas, 16, of St. Louis Avenue, both Mooney students, and Amanda M. Ferraro, 16, of New Road, Austintown, a student at Fitch High School. Lively was seriously injured, as were Lia Kovalchik, 16, and her sister, Karla Kovalchik, 14, both of Sandburg Drive, Austintown. Treated after the crash was Colleen E. Casey, 17, of Sandburg Drive.
Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains has said that the grand jury declined to indict Lively because there was no evidence that he had used alcohol or drugs the night of the crash.
meade@vindy.com