Driver convicted for drunken joyride
Published 6:50 pm Saturday, June 16, 2012
A drunken joyride on an ATV in July 2011 left a Lyle man with two gross misdemeanor convictions after Mower County’s court hearings on Friday.
Trent Eric Murphy, 40, was convicted of two counts of criminal vehicular homicide, as the ATV carrying seven people rolled into a pond and injured two passengers south of the intersection of 565th Avenue and 105th Street in Lyle Township.
According to the court complaint, Murphy admitted to being the driver of the ATV when it rolled into the pond. He and four of the passengers sustained minor cuts and bruises, but one passenger was flown to the hospital by Mayo One after the vehicle’s roll cage landed on top of him. He sustained a liver laceration, fractured ribs and a pubic fracture.
Another passenger, a woman eight months pregnant, was treated at Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin for cuts and other minor injuries. She did not suffer pregnancy complications, according to court documents.
Murphy’s blood sample indicated he had a blood alcohol content of .09 the night of the accident. According to court documents, Murphy’s license was also revoked in 2006 for driving over the legal limit.