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Couple to stand trial in vehicle deaths of Red Lion football players


Stephen and Jodie Tierney, both 46, of Windsor Township, are charged in connection to a crash that killed Stone Hill, 17, of Delta, and Nick Mankin, 16, of Felton, on June 16, 2015.

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Stone Hill and Nick Mankin left the home on Percheron Drive in Windsor Township on June 16, 2015, and what happened next would shake the community.

Not long after 7 p.m., Stone, 17, of Delta, and Nick, 16, of Felton, were killed when their SUV crashed into a utility pole, flipped and caught fire on Slab Road near Holtwood Road in Lower Chanceford Township.

Both were rising seniors and members of the football team at Red Lion Area Senior High School. They were widely known and liked, friends said. About 500 people attended Stone's funeral. When Nick was laid to rest, his teammates had to sit on the floor because mourners packed the chapel and an overflow room.

The Pennsylvania State Police conducted an 11-month investigation. Stone, who was driving the 2002 Toyota 4Runner, had a blood alcohol content of .094 percent, they said. Before the crash, the teenagers had been drinking at Stephen and Jodie Tierney’s house — where, police said, the couple regularly allowed minors to consume alcohol.

Now, the Tierneys, both 46, are set to stand trial on Monday in the York County Court of Common Pleas on six charges in connection to the teens’ deaths. The case is scheduled to last for two weeks.

Here’s a brief overview of what to expect at the trial:

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Friends remember Stone Hill and Nick Mankin
Friends from the community remember Stone Hill and Nick Mankin in June 2015 after the two teens were killed in a crash. Hill and Mankin went to Red Lion Area High School. Photos courtesy of Troy Fisher.
Ben Otte/For the York Daily Record

Prosecutors: A place for ‘underage drinking with no repercussions or concern’

Stephen and Jodie Tierney are charged with the following offenses:

  • Endangering the welfare of children (Two counts) (Felony)
  • Involuntary manslaughter (Two counts) (Misdemeanor)
  • Corruption of minors (Misdemeanor)
  • Selling or furnishing liquor to minors (Misdemeanor)

The commonwealth argues that the Tierneys had and violated a “duty of care” for Stone and Nick. The couple, law enforcement said, was reckless or grossly negligent and caused the teens’ deaths.

Prosecutors wrote in court documents that the Tierneys’ home was “a place where teenagers felt that they could hang out and engage in underage drinking with no repercussions or concern of their parents finding out about their activities.”

The Tierneys never collected car keys, stopped the teens from leaving nor provided supervision, prosecutors said.

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UPS driver delivers autographed baseball bat to Stone Hill's family
UPS driver Hans Engelman had more than 60 of Red Lion student Stone Hill's former teammates sign a baseball bat that he delivered to Hill's parents one month after Hill and classmate Nick Mankin died in a car crash.

Defense: ‘There is no evidence that the Tierneys directly caused the deaths of anybody’

Stephen and Jodie Tierney were not home when alcohol was being consumed on June 16, 2015, the defense said in court documents. They did not buy booze then for the teens, either.

The Tierneys, the defense said, did not know that Stone and Nick were impaired and had no reason to try to prevent them from driving. Two witnesses have testified that the teens did not appear intoxicated.

The couple did not have a "duty of care," the defense argues, nor did they knowingly endanger anyone.

RELATED: Stone Hill, Nick Mankin 'naturally gravitated to each other' at Red Lion

READ: Parents of Red Lion athlete killed in crash receive keepsake from UPS driver

MORE: Coaches run 'fine line' in guiding players away from alcohol

Who are other key players in the trial?

  • Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tim Barker is prosecuting the case with Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sarah Buhite, who leads the York County District Attorney’s Office’s Vehicular Crimes Unit.
  • Cpl. Jonathan Colarusso: A criminal investigator at the Pennsylvania State Police.
  • Tom Kelley: A criminal defense attorney who’s representing Stephen Tierney.
  • Douglas Bare: A criminal defense attorney who’s representing Jodie Tierney.
  • Common Pleas Judge Maria Musti Cook is presiding over the trial.

Contact Dylan Segelbaum at 717-771-2102.