RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) - A Long Island man convicted in a 2018 car crash that killed a 12-year-old Boy Scout was sentenced Wednesday to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison, on the second anniversary of the tragedy.
Thomas Murphy, of Holbrook, New York, had been convicted in December for driving drunk and plowing into a group of hiking Boy Scouts as they walked along a road shoulder, killing Andrew McMorris of Wading River, New York.
Prosecutors said Murphy had been drinking for hours on Sept. 30, 2018, when he got behind the wheel of his SUV and left a golf course, refusing an offer from a sober friend to drive him.
Authorities said he plowed into the group of 12 boys and six adults, injuring three in addition to McMorris, who died from his injuries the next day.
Murphy refused to take a Breathalyzer test at the crash scene, but officers arrested him and said he appeared unsteady on his feet and slurred his words. At his trial, the defense disputed the findings of a blood alcohol test taken about four hours later.
A message seeking comment was left with his attorney.
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