Bicycle Austin forum

owlman

Member

Registered: 2011-12-16

Posts: 142

At-fault driver seriously injures cyclist Colin Camp 6/'13, no penalty

The driver who hit and seriously injured firefighter Colin Camp two years ago was just acquitted of assault charges.

http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local/20 … /32307381/

Police said Colin Camp was hit near Slaughter and Manchaca the afternoon of June 18, 2013. He was wearing a helmet and was riding his bike in a 14 foot shoulder lane when 60-year-old Stephen Charles Murphy hit him from behind. Colin was thrown nearly 50 feet.
...
Colin now lives in a rehabilitation facility and requires around the clock care.

"He can't walk, he can't talk, he still receives all his food and medication through a feed tube in his stomach. It's destroyed us. It's destroyed our family," his younger sister Michelle said.

Colin was going home from soccer practice when he was hit. Investigators said Murphy hit him from behind and continued to drive until witnesses stopped him. Police documents show Murphy admitted to taking the prescription drug Ambien that day.
"There was no justice for Colin and it's disgusting to me that that's what a human life is valued at -- nothing. Is what those jury members thought. Twelve jury members agreed that there should be no accountability held," Michelle said.

A jury found Murphy not guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on Aug. 13. Murphy was represented by Kyle Lowe and David Frank. According to Lowe, the jury never heard about the Ambien during trial because police did an improper search. He said Murphy believed he was in another lane and did not realize it was a shoulder.

MichaelBluejay

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From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

Posts: 1,466

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Re: At-fault driver seriously injures cyclist Colin Camp 6/'13, no penalty

[Moved here from the wrong thread]

Now if the police had done a proper search the Ambien could have been used as evidence according to the newspaper article.
Do officers face disciplinary action for such actions?