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Woman found guilty in death of cyclist
YOUNGSTOWN
A jury of eight women and four men convicted a Campbell woman of vehicular homicide in the March 2, 2010, death of a motorcyclist in the 3500 block of South Avenue.
After more than two hours of deliberations at the end of a four-day trial, the jury convicted Tasha L. Moore, 29, of Jackson Street, in the death of Charles Mulligan, 48, of South Avenue, Boardman.
After Thursday’s verdict, Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court allowed Moore, who had no prior criminal record, to remain free on $1,000 bond pending her 10:30 a.m. Sept. 28 sentencing.
Moore was indicted on an aggravated vehicular-homicide charge, which alleged she recklessly caused Mulligan’s death and which would have carried a possible two- to eight-year prison term.
The vehicular-homicide charge on which the jury convicted her was a lesser-included offense alleging she negligently caused his death. She could get probation or a six- to 18-month prison term. The jury also found that she lacked a valid driver’s license at the time of the crash.
Mulligan was southbound in the passing lane on South Avenue when a car pulled into his path from a parking lot, said Robert J. Andrews, an assistant county prosecutor.
After that car hit him, Mulligan was thrown to the pavement into the middle of South Avenue, and the motorcycle hit a northbound car, Andrews said.
Moore was driving a car southbound in a line of traffic that had stopped because of the accident, but she went left of center around stopped vehicles and ran over Mulligan, Andrews said. She then dragged Mulligan 60 feet before witnesses got her to stop, all while talking on her cellphone, he said.
“The jury came up with a verdict that we can live with. We’re pleased that the jury did not find recklessness,” said Moore’s lawyer, Walter Madison.
“As always, I respect the jury’s verdict. I don’t necessarily agree with it. It was a very difficult case, and I respect the decision they made,” Andrews said of the jurors.