Boy Scout 'Vaulted Into The Air' After Alleged DWI Crash: ADA

RIVERHEAD, NY — In a packed courtroom, the trial began Tuesday for the alleged drunk driver who plowed into a Boy Scout troop out on a hike in Manorville in 2018, killing Andrew McMorris, 12.

Proceedings for Thomas Murphy, 59, of Holbrook were initially delayed when Holbrook fired his attorney in court and hired two new lawyers.

Murphy was indicted on 16 criminal charges in connection with the fatal crash on Sept. 30, 2018, including three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, a felony; second degree manslaughter, a felony; and first degree vehicular manslaughter; Murphy was arraigned on the indictment in front of Suffolk County Acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho in Central Islip and pleaded not guilty to the charges, Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said.

On Sept. 30, shortly before 2 p.m., Murphy was leaving Swan Lake Golf Club to drive home after allegedly drinking alcohol since approximately 9 a.m., Sini said. Murphy struck the group with his vehicle, killing Andrew McMorris and causing serious physical injury to Thomas Lane, 15, of Shoreham, and causing injury to Denis Lane, 16, of Shoreham, and Kaden Lynch, 15, of Calverton, Sini said.

After a jury filed in late to Camacho's completely full courtroom at the Arthur M. Cromarty Court Complex in Riverhead, opening arguments began with Assistant District Attorney Ray Varuolo describing in detail the crash and the boys' horrific injuries as friends and loved ones of the McMorris family, wearing red in solidarity, sobbed quietly.

"It as Mr. Murphy's choice to drink vodka to excess on a Sunday morning," Varuolo said, describing the "devastating scene," and injuries to other Scouts in the troop, who were heard "screaming in pain" during a 911 call, including Lane, whose legs were crushed and who had extensive injuries, needing a hospital bed in the kitchen during his recovery, he said.

Describing what he said happened to Andrew, Varuolo said Murphy hadn't even driven a mile when he "drifted over the white fog line" and careened into the group of 12 Scouts and six leaders, who were walking single file on the side of David Terry Road in Manorville.

Andrew, he said, ricocheted off the side mirror; his small, 100-lb. body was "vaulted into the air," landing facedown in the grass and dirt. "His neck and spine were severed. He was decapitated internally," he said.

Describing the scene, Varuolo described screams. "Children saw their friends being tossed around like rag dolls. John McMorris saw his 12-year-old son Andrew dying." He added, "A little boy doesn't stand a chance against a drunk driver in an SUV."

Andrew's father knelt by his son as medical personnel tried desperately to save him; many at the scene called 911 after the crash but Murphy, Varuolo said, did not; instead, he texted his wife, he said.

When he got out of his white Mercedes SUV, Murphy reportedly said, "Oh, s---, I'm in trouble," Varuolo said. At the scene Murphy reportedly said, repeatedly, "Are the boys okay?" Varuolo said.

Andrew died 14 hours later, at 4:07 a.m. on Oct. 1.

Murphy, or "Murph" to his friends, Varuolo said, had played just six rounds of golf before he became more interested in drinking; he did not eat that day and videos taken with his own phone show him slurring his words and professing his love for his softball buddies, men he'd grown up with, as well as dancing that morning at the Swan Lake Golf Club, he said. One friend, who'd lost his own license, was so worried that he asked Murphy if he could drive him home; although he knocked on the window, Murphy refused, closing the window and locking the doors, sealing the car and the fate of the Scouts, Varuolo said.

Murphy refused a blood alcohol test repeatedly; the District Attorney's Office secured a warrant for a chemical test of Murphy's blood that revealed a blood alcohol content level of 0.13 percent, which was extrapolated to an estimated 0.19 percent at the time of the crash, Sini said.

Varuolo also said that while Murphy first said he'd had one drink, he later said he had three, and was unable to finish a field sobriety test administered by a police officer because he fell over and was unsteady on his feet.

"Make no mistake — this was a crash, not an accident," Varuolo said. He added, "One thing this is not, is a 'whodunnit.'"

Murphy's attorney Steven Politi said he believes the boys were not properly supervised on the road.

Politi told the jury that they should be aware of not just what is said but what is not said — and to focus on what's been omitted. Politi said there had been a failure to proceed with a number of steps, including not engaging an expert regarding blood; failure to properly proceed with accident reconstruction; failure to review accident scene photos or file a discovery plan; and failure to secure video footage. In addition, he said, Murphy had spoken to many at the scene and no one except the police officer had said anything about him appearing to be intoxicated.

He also said that there was no white fog line, just a section of concrete, in the area where Andrew was hit; he also said there was a Jeep parked on the side of the road that the troop had to walk around.

Also, Politi said, the department handling the case was not accredited so there was no record of any conversations his client had while being questioned; he also said he had never seen footage or photos of Murphy entering the station.

Nobody was questioning that Andrew McMorris "perished," Politi said, but he asked the jury to keep focused on the facts and not emotion. For example, he said, the issue of Scout Thomas Lane's injuries and his hospital bed in the kitchen. "Who cares?" Politi asked. The issue the jury must focus on, he said, was whether "a crime has been committed."

Also, he referenced his client's weight and said he was known to eat eggplant parm in the car on the way to the golf club, so it was unlikely Murphy had not eaten, Politi said.

He referenced Varuolo's statement that the crash was "not the road's fault" and said that the McMorris family had filed civil lawsuits against the state and county in regard to the road's construction and how it contributed to the crash. Politi also spent time questioning the order the boys were in on the hike, and whether they were changing positions and not walking single file, or tired from walking for 11 miles and maybe listening to ear buds. "Kids are going to act like kids," Politi said, adding that he believed the boys were "improperly supervised."

Politi told the jury if they were confused about testimony, "that's reasonable doubt." He also questioned why the lead detective on the case lived next door to Lane and did not step down, alleging a "personal relationship" between the families.

Piloti also said Murphy had passed the horizontal gaze nystagmus test; if a person has four clues, that would be a .08 percent BAC and he said Murphy had demonstrated two clues when tested and "passed, essentially."

While all agreed it was "an unimaginable tragedy," Politi said, "you don't want to compound that by convicting an innocent man.".

If convicted of the top count, Murphy faces a maximum sentence of eight and one-third to 25 years in prison, Sini said.

Murphy posted bond in the amount of $500,000 following his arraignment on Oct. 1, which was transferred to the indictment; in addition, Murphy's license was suspended for driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol content level of .08 or above and for gross negligence in the operation of a motor vehicle, Sini said.

The trial is expected to be lengthy, with a long list of witnesses, photos, videos and forensic evidence presented.