12-year-old Boy Scout killed when car plows into group, suspected driver charged with DUI
The driver allegedly veered off the road and plowed into five scouts.
A New York man has been charged with driving under the influence after he allegedly lost control of his car and crashed into a group of Boy Scouts on Long Island, killing one of the young group members, according to police and the local Boy Scouts of America Council.
Police arrested 59-year-old Thomas Murphy after he allegedly veered off a road in Manorville, New York, about an hour east of Manhattan, and plowed into five Boy Scouts on Sunday afternoon, the Suffolk County Police Department said.
One of the scouts, 12-year-old Andrew McMorris, has since died, police said.
"We offer our deepest condolences to the victim’s family and we will support them in any way that we can," Boy Scouts of America Suffolk County Council CEO Ryan DiBernardo said in a statement Monday morning. "Our thoughts remain with the Scouts still recovering from this incident."
The scouts were walking on the shoulder of the road, heading north, when Murphy’s 2016 Mercedes allegedly rushed toward them from the southbound side, police said.
The scouts were hiking at the time, DiBernardo said.
One of the scouts, 15-year-old Thomas Lane, was hospitalized with serious injuries, police said.
The three others, 16-year-old Denis Lane, 15-year-old Kaden Lynch and 15-year-old Matthew Yakaboski, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The suspected driver was charged with driving while intoxicated.
It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.