Father enters not guilty plea in daughter's lawn mower death

A Lexington man has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree manslaughter stemming from the May 25 death of his 2-year-old daughter in a lawn mower accident.

William Jackson McReynolds II, 40, appeared before Judge T. Bruce Bell in Fayette District Court Monday on a criminal complaint and summons in the death of Adelaide McReynolds. Second-degree manslaughter is a Class C felony punishable by five to 10 years in prison.

McReynolds is being represented by Lexington attorney Jim Lowry.

Adelaide died from blunt-force and sharp-force trauma after she fell off a zero-turn mower that her father was operating, police said. The accident happened at the family's home on Hillgate Drive.

According to court records, McReynolds "had an odor of alcoholic beverage" when he was interviewed by police after the accident.

McReynolds, a co-owner of A.P. Suggins Bar & Grill, told police he had worked there earlier in the day and had consumed two one-pint draft beers, the complaint said.

McReynolds was only cited; he has never been taken into custody. A hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 12.

This story was originally published September 12, 2011 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Father enters not guilty plea in daughter's lawn mower death."