Bethany Anne Mann - 243A21

Bethany Anne Mann

July 21, 1980 – June 22, 2011

Bethany Anne Mann of Campbellsville, daughter of Pat Mann and Pam Holmes Russell, was born July 21, 1980, in Taylor County, Kentucky. She died at 8:45 P.M., Wednesday, June 22, 2011 in Campbellsville as the result of an automobile accident. Age: 30

She professed faith in Christ and was a member of the Campbellsville Baptist Church. She was a 1998 graduate of Taylor County High School and attended Eastern Kentucky University. She was employed as a construction equipment operator.

She is survived by her father, Pat Mann and wife, Jamie of Campbellsville; her mother, Pam Holmes Russell and husband, Jerry of Campbellsville; two brothers: Joshua Douglas Mann of Bowling Green and Caleb Alexander Mann of Campbellsville; paternal grandmother, Becky Bower Mann of Louisville; maternal grandparents, Samuel Carl and Ella J. Holmes of Campbellsville; special friend, Kevin Munday of Campbellsville; several nieces and nephews many other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her paternal grandfather, Dr. W. R. Mann May 4, 1992.

The Louisville Courier-Journal on June 24, 2011

Woman dies in crash, driver charged with her murder

Driver accused of driving under the influence of alcohol.

By Calen McKinney

Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 8:11 am (Updated: June 24, 4:51 pm)

She was someone who loved animals, the outdoors and smiling. That's how friends and family members say they will remember Bethany Mann.

Mann, 30, died Wednesday at 8:38 p.m. after she was ejected from a vehicle during a crash. The driver of the car, William Mayes, 29, has been charged with murder, as he was driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to a Taylor County Sheriff's Office report, Mayes was driving a 1993 Ford Escort east on Spurlington Road. He lost control of the vehicle, ran off the road and struck a tree.

Mayes and two other passengers - Shalen Followell of Russell Springs, 24, and Jonathon Raikes, 23, of Elk Horn - were also injured.

Taylor County Coroner Terry Dabney pronounced Mann dead at the scene. On Thursday, Dabney said Mann died quickly of multiple blunt force trauma.

Taylor County Sheriff's Detective Brian Pickard and Taylor County Sheriff's Deputy Tim Coppage are investigating the crash.

Pickard said he doesn't believe Mayes was traveling a high rate of speed when the crash occurred. However, he said, none of the four people in the vehicle were wearing seat belts, though there was evidence that they had all been drinking. He said alcoholic beverages were found inside the vehicle and scattered at the scene of the crash.

All were thrown from the vehicle after the crash, Pickard said, and each suffered cuts. He said Mayes was the least injured.

Followell, Raikes and Mayes were transported to Taylor Regional Hospital where they were admitted for treatment of multiple injuries. On Friday morning, the three were listed in stable condition at TRH. Mayes was released Friday from TRH at about 1 p.m.

The sheriff's report states that Followell and Raikes both underwent surgery early Thursday morning.

Pickard said law enforcement officials were guarding Mayes at his room while he was at TRH. He was transported to the Taylor County Detention Center for booking on Friday afternoon. As of Friday afternoon, there were no court dates set.

Mann had dated Campbellsville resident Kevin Munday off and on for the past eight years.

"She was a great person," Munday said. "She loved everybody."

Munday said Mann loved horses and dogs and floating in the river. He said he will always remember her smile and her laugh.

"She was a happy-go-lucky person," he said. "She'd do anything for anybody in the world.

"I just hope everybody always remembers her. She was a great person. She got in the wrong car."

Mann's cousin Jeff Reynolds said she was an outgoing, fun person who loved life.

"She always had a smile on her face," he said.

Reynolds said Mann and a group of her friends and family members enjoyed camping together. He said he believes she had been studying to become a physical trainer.

"[I'll remember her] laugh and smile more than anything," he said. " ... Just a free spirit."

Lifelong friend Jeremy Caulk said Mann was a great friend to him. He said she was a hard worker and will be terribly missed.

"She was the all-around best girl friend I ever had in my life," he said.

Caulk said the two were neighbors and grew up together. They once dated, he said, but soon decided they were as close as a brother and sister.

He said he will miss her attitude toward life.

"There wasn't much negative to her," he said. "She was always about the good things. She would never want to be down."

As the driver of the vehicle, Mayes has been charged with murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and DUI, with an aggravator, and driving on a license suspended for DUI, both second offenses. Detention center records also list him as being charged with third-degree possession of a controlled substance.

Mann was the daughter of Pat Mann and Pam Holmes Russell. She was a member of Campbellsville Baptist Church, graduated from Taylor County High School in 1998 and had attended Eastern Kentucky University. She worked as a construction equipment operator.

Funeral was Saturday at Parrott & Ramsey Funeral Home in Campbellsville. Burial followed in Campbellsville Memorial Gardens. Dr. James Jones, who is a family friend, performed the ceremony.

Last week, Jones said he knew Mann as a young girl. He said she was pretty and very intelligent.

"Bethany was just a sweet girl," he said, "one of the sweetest girls you'd ever want to meet."

Jones said he had baptized her when he was pastor at Campbellsville Baptist Church.

Though he lost contact with Mann as she grew up, he said he remains a close friend of the Mann family.

Survivors also include her stepmother, Jamie Mann of Campbellsville; her stepfather, Jerry Russell of Campbellsville; two brothers, Joshua Douglas Mann of Bowling Green and Caleb Alexander Mann of Campbellsville; and her grandparents, Becky Bower Mann of Louisville and Samuel Carl and Ella J. Holmes of Campbellsville.

She was preceded in death by a grandfather, Dr. W.R. Mann on May 4, 1992.

Central Kentucky News-Journal – June 23, 2011