Mookie Blaylock receives 15-year sentence over vehicular homicide
Former NBA player Mookie Blaylock faces a 15-year prison sentence for his role in a vehicular homicide, according to a report from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In May 2013, an SUV driven by Blaylock crossed into the wrong lane of a road in suburban Atlanta and struck another vehicle head-on last year. The woman sitting in the passenger seat of the second vehicle, Monica Murphy, a mother of five, died after the crash.
Lawyers attributed the crash -- in which Blaylock was seriously injured -- to a medical condition.
As part of a plea agreement, Blaylock's prison sentence can be suspended after three years if he meets certain conditions. From the Journal-Constitution:
The plea was for seven years in prison and eight on probation but allows for prison sentence to be suspended after three years as long as he completes requirements including: 1,500 hours of community service, treatment for alcoholism, including twice weekly Alcoholic Anonymous meetings, and doesn’t drive for the entire 15 years, Palmer said.
“He has admitted he has a problem with alcohol and he is getting treatment for that,” she said.
The toxicology screens showed no alcohol in Blaylock’s system at the time of the crash, Palmer said. The reckless driving, vehicular homicide charges arose because doctors had told him not to drive because he was prone to seizures attributed to alcoholism, she said. He had been arrested for DUI a month before the crash and he had “several past DUI convictions,” Palmer said.
Blaylock played seven seasons with the Atlanta Hawks and three with the Golden State Warriors, earning one All-Star appearance in 1994.
- Chris Johnson
