Maybe, a mother suggested, Sean Snyder thought he was doing a favor for a friend by buying some teenagers alcohol.

But “real friends wouldn’t put friends in danger,” Sherry Wenk said, noting the domino result of Snyder’s decision was the death of her 15-year-old daughter and permanent brain trauma to a then-17-year-old boy.

Wenk spoke of the events of July 11, 2012, during a hearing in Butler County Court for Snyder, who pleaded guilty to corruption of minors and was sentenced to one year of probation.

Court records allege Snyder, 23, of Butler bought cans of beverages called Four Loko and Blast that Alexis McKinney and Bryant Butler drank.

Four Loko is a sugary and caffeinated energy drink that is 12 percent alcohol. Blast is a fruity blend drink, also 12 percent alcohol.

Later, Butler — allegedly carrying a blood-alcohol level of 0.208 percent — lost control of his 1999 Chevrolet Blazer, which rolled over before igniting in fire.

McKinney of Cabot died of massive head and body injuries. Butler of Butler was flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital with life threatening brain trauma.

Assistant District Attorney Richard Bosco said, “When we initially received the case, we looked at all the facts involved as they applied to the law the corruption of minors was legally and factually the correct charge,”

Snyder’s sentence also includes a $500 fine and 150 hours of community service.

Snyder’s hearing brought members of McKinney and Butler’s families and a climax of emotion.

“I pray every night before I go to bed to die in my sleep so I can be with my daughter Alexis,” said grieving father David McKinney. “She was my only child. She was my life. It is so lonely at my house without Alexis. The night she died, I died.”

Both Wenk and McKinney described their daughter as a happy, fun-loving, straight-A student at Knoch High School. About a half-dozen family members wore T-shirts with Alexis’ picture, and the family was accompanied by a representative from Mothers Against Drunken Driving.

“She was such a good baby,” Wenk said, noting that her youngest child’s death has taken the joy out of otherwise happy occasions like vacations. “We go to the cemetery to eat cake on birthdays.”

Both parents noted the tragedy could have been avoided, beginning with Snyder’s decision to buy alcohol.

“People say you have to move on,” Wenk said. “It is not as easy as people think.”

Equally emotional, Butler’s mother told the judge about her son’s uphill recovery battle.

Butler, who spent time in a coma, has undergone numerous surgeries and procedures.

“All of the daily things of life that we take for granted, Bryant had to relearn,” said Robin Butler.

Robin Butler said with the continued medical procedures, slow recovery and occasional setbacks, “our lives have turned upside down.”

With in-home assistance, Butler still has hopes of graduating high school. But his love of wrestling had to be given up and, “We will never have our old Bryant back. He is a completely different person both physically and mentally.”

Butler will never again be self-sufficient. His gait will be unsteady. He has memory and cognitive issues and a disorder called “pseudo bulbar affect” that makes him laugh and smile uncontrollably.

“(Snyder’s) poor judgment to purchase and provide the involved minors with alcohol that night will continue to impact the lives of two families forever,” she said.