Family mourns Wilmington teen as hit-and-run driver pleads guilty, faces only weeks in jail
NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — On Monday, a man pleaded guilty in court following a hit-and-run that killed a Wilmington teen last June.
It was determined that, because of how the North Carolina law is set up, he will only serve up to four weeks total in jail, a sentence the family says doesn’t come close to bringing justice.
Sobs filled a New Hanover County courtroom on Monday as a mother grieved the loss of her son, and a community mourned the loss of a teenage boy.
“He was a sweet, sweet, nice boy. Everything a dad would say about their son,” said Daniel Mahoney.
Daniel and Marcela Mahoney are the parents of 15-year-old Conor Mahoney, who was hit by a vehicle and killed last summer.
The driver, 33-year-old Ethan Blackburn.
Blackburn struck Conor on June 29th while the teen was skateboarding along South College Road, then drove away without stopping.
Conor died at the scene.
The Highway Patrol arrested Blackburn two nights later.
On Monday, a courtroom filled with family and friends showed support for the Mahoney family as Blackburn stood before the judge.
One of those friends, Trey Levitt, remembers Conor for the light he brought to others.
“Just loving, caring, funny. He was just nice in general,” said Levitt.
A judge sentenced Blackburn to three years’ probation for felony hit-and-run resulting in death.
As part of the plea deal, Blackburn will also serve one week in jail on the anniversary of the crash for the next three years.
Marcella Mahoney says the sentence does not bring closure.
“No, there was no justice at all,” said Mahoney.
The family says they are disappointed.
But District Attorney Jason Smith says cases like this can be complicated under current state law.
“The tricky thing is is our law incentivizes people to, if you’re impaired, to leave the scene of a crime because the punishment for felony death by motor vehicle, an impaired driver who hits and kills somebody, the punishment’s steeper,” said Smith.
Now, the Mahoney family hopes their loss can lead to change, pushing for stronger penalties in hit-and-run cases.
“We’ve been invited by the district attorney to travel to Raleigh next week to petition to legislature that the punishments are not sufficient for the crime,” said Daniel Mahoney.
Blackburn left the courtroom in handcuffs and is spending a week in custody.
