Inset: Megan Marie Mappin (McDonald-Aeberli Funeral Home). Background: The Pennsylvania road where Mappin was thrown from a golf cart and died (Google Maps).
A 24-year-old woman in Pennsylvania allegedly drove drunk and crashed a golf cart, throwing three of six passengers into the street, where one struck her head and died.
Natalie Jo Lally was taken into custody this week and charged with one count each of vehicular homicide and aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence in the death of Megan Marie Mappin, court records show.
The fatal crash took place on May 24, 2025, in Jackson Township, which is about 85 miles north of Philadelphia.
Lally was driving the overfilled golf cart on Latonka Drive when she sped into a curve and lost control of the green four-seat golf cart, causing three of the passengers to fall from the cart and into the street, Pittsburgh ABC affiliate WTAE reported. Upon arriving, troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police found the vehicle partially on the grass off to the side of Latonka Drive.
Medics treated one of the passengers, later identified as Mappin, at the scene for a head injury. Due to the severity of her injury, she was later airlifted via helicopter to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Hospital. She succumbed to her injuries and died two days later.
A subsequent autopsy reportedly determined that Mappin”s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, neck, and torso.
A second passenger in the cart also suffered a head laceration and required 10 stitches to seal, Youngstown NBC and CW affiliate WFMJ reported.
Troopers at the scene said Lally’s eyes were glassy and bloodshot, noting that she smelled like alcohol. When they asked Lally whether she had been drinking that evening, she responded that she had drunk “enough,” adding that she “had a lot” to drink, WFMJ reported.
Lally told authorities that she was driving the cart, but was not aware that the road had such a sharp turn.
After performing a “walk-and-turn” test on Lally, authorities drew her blood for testing. The result showed that at the time of the incident, her blood alcohol level was .164%, more than double the legal limit of .08%, WTAE reported.
In addition to the aforementioned charges, Lally is also facing three counts of reckless endangerment and one count each of reckless driving and careless driving unintentionally causing death. She is currently scheduled to appear in court for her preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Douglas E. Straub on March 11.
According to her obituary, Mappin was an organ donor whose death resulted in three people receiving the organs they required.
