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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 tragic incident unfolded in Pennsylvania involving a 24-year-old woman who allegedly drove under the influence and crashed a golf cart, resulting in the death of one of her passengers. The accident saw three of the six passengers ejected onto the street, with one suffering a fatal head injury.
Natalie Jo Lally was apprehended this week and now faces charges including vehicular homicide and aggravated assault by vehicle while under the influence, according to court documents. The charges stem from the death of Megan Marie Mappin.
The crash occurred on May 24, 2025, in Jackson Township, located roughly 85 miles north of Philadelphia. The incident took place on Latonka Drive, where Lally was reportedly operating the overcrowded golf cart. As she navigated a curve at high speed, she lost control of the green, four-seater vehicle, resulting in three passengers being thrown from it. According to a report by Pittsburgh’s ABC affiliate WTAE, the golf cart was found partially on the grass beside the road when Pennsylvania State Police troopers arrived at the scene.
Emergency medical services attended to Mappin at the site of the crash, treating her for critical head injuries. Due to the severity of her condition, she was airlifted to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Hospital. Tragically, despite medical efforts, Mappin succumbed to her injuries two days later.
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.