dnesday, December 13,1989
The Battalion
Page 11
ost gifts
returned
to owner
■ ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) —
Beverly Toddes says a man who
h jifound a box full of her Christmas
jjresents and returned them has
restored her faith in people.
I( . JThe gifts, which included a
(1( biid house, sweaters and candy
cane reindeer worth nearly $200,
apparently fell from the back of a
puck driven by one of Toddes’
■lends, who was transporting
Bern to her family in Patton, Pa.
■ “We thought it was fantastic
that someone turned it in,”
Toddes said in a telephone inter
pew. “Both my husband and I
liaid we just can’t imagine this
nowadays.”
■ She said she was surprised
someone would make an effort to
■nd the owner of the gifts.
■ That someone was Ray Spear-
■an, who took the box home and
®lled the Anderson County
|heriffs Office. Deputies used a ,
credit card receipt in the box to
trace it to Toddes, a medical assis
tant in San Antonio.
Witnesses: Man wasn’t drunk
on day that bus crash killed 27
CARROLLTON, Ky. (AP) — A man charged with
murdering 27 people in a bus crash hadn’t been drink
ing heavily the day of the accident, relatives and a
friend testified Monday as the defense opened its case.
Also testifying was Kentucky Fire Marshal John Wil
liam Martin, who said a smoky fire that engulfed the
church bus still would have occurred if the vehicle had
been equipped with a protective cage around its gas
tank.
The defense maintains that Larry Mahoney was not
drunk when his pickup slammed into the bus on May
14, 1988, and that the 27 victims were killed because the
bus was unsafe.
Mahoney admits drinking the day of the crash, driv
ing on the wrong side of Interstate 71 and striking the
loaded church bus. He is charged with 27 counts of
murder, 42 counts of wanton endangerment, 12 counts
of assault and a count of drunken driving.
Defense attorney William Summers asked MaVtin if a
protective cage around the gas tank might have pre
vented the fire that followed the crash. Police say the
gas tank was punctured by a piece of the bus’ front sus
pension after the collision.
‘‘It’s my opinion it would not have prevented the
puncture in this case,” Martin said.
The fire marshal also testified that plastic seat covers
and cushions in the bus were combustible, but later
added that the smoke that filled the bus might have
come from the burning gasoline alone.
The former school bus, built in 1977 before more
stringent federal safety standards went into effect, had
been sold as surplus to the First Assembly of God
church.
Following the crash, Martin issued a report recom
mending that new school buses be designed with diesel
engines, additional emergency escape doors and win
dows, and with gas tanks in the center, rather than on
the side.
The defendant’s mother, son and. best friend fol
lowed Martin to the witness stand, all testifying that Ma
honey was not drunk when they saw him the day of the
accident, which occurred just before 11 p.m.
Anthony Mahoney, 17, testified that he didn’t see his
father drink, nor did he seem intoxicated when he left
their trailer at about 1 p.m.
Mary Mahoney said her son wasn’t drunk, and didn’t
consume any alcohol, when he visited her at about 4:30
p.m.
Mahoney’s best friend, Dennis Mefford, testified that
he thought Mahoney had been drinking but was not in
toxicated when he visited Mefford’s house at about 6:30
p.m.
Mefford described Mahoney as a moderate drinker
who finds that hard liquor bothers his stomach. He said
Mahoney drank one can of beer while eating pizza, and
then left with another can.
The defense is expected to complete its phase of the
trial by Friday. It remained uncertain whether Maho
ney would testify.
LIFEGUARD TRAINING COURSE
♦
> College Station Parks & Recreation & Texas A&M Pool Management wilK
> be holding the National Pool & Waterpark Training Course on January 9, ^
. 10 & 11,1990.
>
£ January 9 6-10 pm College Station Community Center
T January 10 12-3 & 7-11 Texas A&M Indoor Pool
^ January 11 12-3 & 7-11 Texas A&M indoor Pool
t This course is for anyone wanting to obtain E&A Lifeguard Certification.
♦ Call College Station Parks & Recreation, 764-3773, for more information.
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With Purchase of Radio Control Air Plane Set
10% discount on any R/C airplane, car or
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Hobbies & Crafts
823-0916
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AM/PM Clinics
• Minor Emergencies
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• Weight Reduction Program
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846-4756
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693-0202
2305 Texas Ave S.
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779-4756
401 S. Texas
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