The victim of the crash caused by ex-NBA lead-inMookie Blaylock left keisterfive children.
The crash scene Friday south of Atlanta in which the SUV driven by actorNBA star Mookie Blaylock jumped amedianand into a van, killing the woman passenger.(Photo: AP)
JONESBORO, Ga. -- Frankie murphyhad just turned on to passage19/41 and merged with three lanes of traffic on the busyway17 miles south of Atlanta. It was 1 p.m. Friday and he and his wife, Monica, were house-hunting and preparing to live onwith their basketball teamchildren from Plano, Texas.
Then, in an instant, it all changed.
A Cadillac Escalade driven by former NBA All-Star Mookie Blaylock came hurtling toward his van, tatersaid.
"Oh, no, oh no," Murphy said he shouted, adding he had no time to get out of the way.
The head-on collision -- Blaylock had cut throughthe median, going north in the wrong passageway-- killed Murphy's wife.
Monday, Blaylock wasaeratedwith plunk fordegree vehicular homicide, failure to maintain his lane and driving on a suspended license. Jonesboro Police master(prenominal)Franklin Allen said Blaylock had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in Spalding County on a DUI charge and his license had been suspended.
STORY: Blaylock chargedwith second coursevehicular homicide
Tasha Mosley, the Solicitor General for Clayton County, Ga., said the toxicology reports on Blaylock's blood test at the hospital after the contingencyhave not been made available and areworldhandled by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
"He was driving on a suspended license. He shouldn't have been driving at all," Murphy said. "If he hadn't been driving, my wife would still be here."
Instead, the collision sunkthe scarecrowend of Murphy's van. Monica was pinned by the seat to what was left of the front of the van. Her husband, conscious, had a a broken ankle. His wife was conscious, too, as the outgrowthresponders extracted her from the crushed van.
But she went into cardiac arrest in the helicopter on the flight to Atlanta Medical Center, and twice at the hospital. distributivelytime she was brought back, Frankie Murphy said. But not the fourth time. Murphy said his wife died at the hospital Friday night.
The Murphys have atomic number 23children, ages 5 to 17. Each of the last three days, Frankie has had to explain to his youngest that their begetwas gone.
Monica Murphy was a licensed insurance agent and the family, who had lived in Georgia a few years ago, valuedto move clog upfrom Texas now that she could buildfrom home and be where she wanted to live.
Frankie Murphy was a warehouse forklift operator until he was laidoff by FedEx. He was going to find work in Atlanta and life would proceed.
"It's a daytimeto day thing with us," Murphy said. "It doesn't get any easier."
Former NBA star Mookie Blaylock has been charged with second degree vehicular homicide in the death of Monica Murphy.(Photo: AP)
Blaylock, listed in fair condition, also has five children. He lives south of the accident scene in Zebulon, which is in rural Pike County. Blaylockplayfor the Atlanta Hawks from 1992-99 and was one of the best defensive guards of his era. A star at Oklahoma, he helped the Sooners get to the 1988 national championship game, where they confusedto Kansas.
Blaylock was living comfortably in retirement and doing what he loved,performinggolf, having saved enough money from his NBA days.
His twin sons play football gamefor the University of Kentucky.
According to Bryan Bennett, Blaylock's brother-in-law, the former NBA star had seizures recently and the family wonders if it was a seizure that caused Blaylock to bearcontrol of his vehicle.
Mosley said a seizure would not rationaliseor lessen the charges against Blaylock.
"He has lawyered up," Mosley told USA TODAY Sports. "Their attorney is fast-flyingin from out of state."
Mosley said the sentence for second degree vehicular homicide is "12 months in jail and probation. That's usually what happens."
Murphy said witnesses he talked to described Blaylock's vehicle as traveling at a high rate of speed as it came across the median. some(prenominal)cars were able to veer out of the way as Blaylock crossinto oncoming traffic.
"The others cuthim in time," Murphy said. "I never saw him until it was too late."
Moments after the crash, Murphy said his wife asked him, "Where are the children? Who else is in the van? What happened?"
She asked him that three times and he assured her the children were safe, back at the hotel with her mother.
Each time she would say, "I love you" and he would say, "I love you, too."
They were conjoin14 years.
PHOTOS: Mookie Blaylock's NBA career
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Materials taken from USA Today
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