A homicide charge has been dropped against a Superior woman involved in a fatal 2015 vehicle-pedestrian crash in the town of Wascott, amid questions on whether the evidence was enough to successfully prosecute the case.
Ann Marie Murray, 50, on Monday in Douglas County Circuit Court instead pleaded no contest to a felony count of operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license and causing the death of another. The charges were in connection with the death of 40-year-old Eric Madrid of Duluth from injuries suffered when he was hit along County Highway T in the town of Wascott on the night of Aug. 7.
A charge of third offense operating with a restricted controlled substance also was dismissed Monday.
Murray is expected to enter a plea to a remaining charge of third offense operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration on Sept. 6, when she is sentenced for the operating while revoked charge. The felony count carries a maximum penalty of six years imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.
Assistant District Attorney Erica Ellenwood moved to dismiss the homicide charge Monday based on evidentiary concerns. Murray's attorney Rick Gondik told Judge George Glonek that a reconstruction expert retained by his office evaluated the crash site. The incident occurred in heavy fog, and the victim was wearing dark clothing and was walking in the lane Murray was driving in. The reconstruction expert "concluded the accident would have happened if Ms. Murray was stone-cold sober," Gondik said, based on the thick fog and the speed with which she was driving.
ADVERTISEMENT
"There is no way the accident could have been avoided," Gondik told the court.
Murray and Madrid were friends, he said.
"She was actually going out there to find him," Gondik said, so he wouldn't get hurt.
Madrid's family and friends were split evenly on whether to accept a plea agreement, Ellenwood said, but she didn't believe prosecution for the homicide charge would have been successful.
According to authorities, conditions were dark and foggy when Murray hit Madrid, who was walking down the centerline of the roadway about 11:20 p.m.
Responding deputies found Madrid in the road with severe head trauma and unable to communicate. He was taken to Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth, where he died several days later.
Authorities said Murray acknowledged that she struck Madrid, repeatedly stating, "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I could do." Murray claimed she had three beers that evening, but failed field sobriety tests, according to the criminal complaint. Testing indicated she had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.097, above the 0.08 legal limit.
Murray had two prior operating while intoxicated convictions in Wisconsin. At the time of the crash, authorities said, she was in possession of a valid Minnesota license, but her Wisconsin driving privileges had been revoked.
ADVERTISEMENT
The News Tribune contributed to this report.
