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Largo Man Gets 10-Year Sentence For DUI Manslaughter

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 22, 2008

LARGO - A construction worker was sentenced to slightly more than 10 years in prison Monday after he pleaded no contest in a drunken driving wreck that killed an Ohio husband and father of five last year, according to computerized court records.

Joseph Lenahan, 34, of Largo, was charged with driving under the influence manslaughter and possession of marijuana. His blood-alcohol level at the time of the Nov. 30 wreck was 0.309 — almost four times the threshold at which a driver in Florida is presumed intoxicated, court records say.

Lenahan was driving recklessly on Interstate 275 and suddenly cut across three northbound lanes near 54th Avenue North, authorities have said. His 2000 Chevrolet Astro struck the end of a concrete barrier and overturned, landing on top of a 1997 Plymouth Voyager driven by Henry "Hank" Patricy, 46, of Perry, Ohio. Patricy was killed.

Patricy was a baseball coach for 14-year-olds, was a bass player in a contemporary Christian band and helped children in a juvenile detention center with their Bible studies.

Patricy was in St. Petersburg trying to earn money for his cash-strapped family. He was at a boat show hawking his invention, a large waterproof, Velcro-type strap used for maritime hauling and to tie boats to docks, friends have said.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect prison sentence.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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