Interviews: 1. Barbara Murphy, face-to-face interview, 11/15/15 2. Tamara Vining, face-to-face interview, 11/27/15 3. Robert Murphy, face-to-face interview, 11/27/15 4. Jim Murphy, Highlands Ranch, Co., telephone interview, 12/1/15 Print Sources: 1. “Impaired Driving: Get the Facts,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 05/19/2015; (accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving /impaired-drv_factsheet.html, 11/15/15) 2. “DUI & DWI in Colorado,” DMV.org, 11/11/2015; (accessed at http://www.dmv.org/co-colorado/automotive-law/dui.php, 11/15/15) 3. Kevin Vaughan and David Olinger, “DUI Arrest Stats Staggering,” The Denver Post, 04/26/09; (accessed at http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12229173, 11/15/15) 4. Rich Stim, “Colorado DUI & DWAI Laws: Fines & Penalties,” NOLO, (accessed at http://dui.drivinglaws.org/colorado.php, 11/15/15) 5. Tamra Monahan, “Ranch Teen Dies in Car Accident on C-470,” Colorado Community Media, 03/07/03; (accessed at http://coloradocommunitymedia.com/stories/Ranch-teen-dies-in-car-accident-on-C-470,59561, 11/11/15) |
On March 4th, 2003 at 2:15PM in Littleton, Colorado, there was a three-hour delay car accident on C-470. 31-year-old driver Mark Bogacz was driving a 2002 Chevy Avalanche while impaired and drove in the oncoming lanes when it crashed into a 2000 Mitsubishi coupe. Inside the Mitsubishi were two male teenagers: 19-year-old Phillip Sena and 18-year-old Jason Murphy.
Bogacz along with two fellow passengers and Sena were admitted to Swedish Medical Center in critical condition. Murphy, however, died instantly at the scene. “Jason had drove home to go to a birthday party. It was late on a Monday night coming back from the party with a friend when they stopped at the Waffle House before going to another friend’s house to hang out,” said father Jim Murphy. “At 6:30 in the morning the police officer came to the door with a victim advocate. They came to my door and asked me if Jason Murphy’s dad and I said yes. They both told me that Jason was involved in a serious car accident and was killed.” “I remembered being called out of a meeting where I worked and took a phone call from a relative stating that Jason was killed in an automobile accident caused by a drunk driver,” said Jason’s aunt Barbara Murphy. “I remembered flying to Colorado with my immediate family to attend the funeral services, how grief stricken Jason’s dad, my brother, was and how concerned I was about his health and the possibility that he might commit suicide.” “I had my own business and couldn’t work for a year, and ended up closing my business to work for someone else,” said Jim Murphy. “We always have a somber feeling. If I won the lottery tomorrow for 500 million dollars anyone would be ecstatic but my family. There is always a constant sadness in our family, we would never feel that happy again.” “I was shocked at first and was motivated to get to Colorado as quickly as possible,” said Jason’s uncle Robert Murphy. “It was during tax season but I needed to be there for my brother and his family. When I arrived it was so surreal to find out what happened and to keep it all together was very difficult and emotional for all of us.” Jason’s father mentioned that Jason was a very loving, adventurous, happy young man that was able to make a lot of friends by really listening and empathizing with them. He loved to snowboard, skateboard and listen to his favorite bands: Pink Floyd, the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. He was very determined person to do things right, such as practicing his skateboard for hours to get down the right trick, sort of self-driven. “I also remember how young and promising his future was as the brightest and most ambitious middle child of three children, who was the first to enter college the September before the accident occurred and had just started,” said Barbara Murphy. “Jason was truly a victim in that he was driving on a freeway with his college buddy going back to college, and he was driving within the law. The adult who struck him was not only impaired and under the influence of drugs but was also driving recklessly on the wrong side of the road. Jason became one of many innocent victims of drunk driving incidents.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 30 people in the Unites States die in motor vehicle accidents every day that involve an alcohol impaired driver, or one death in every 51 minutes of the day. In the state of Colorado, a common occurrence is that impaired drivers have the tendency to have not just one offense but multiple offenses, time after time again. There are two types of offenses in the state: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs (DUI) and Driving While Ability is Impaired (DWAI). At the time of Jason Murphy’s death, the limit was .10 for drinking and driving. “Bogacz was put in jail,” said Jim Murphy. “We went through certain hearings with him and he admitted drinking and driving without a hearing. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail. He went up for parole four times, and after three times he was denied parole.” About a year after Jason Murphy’s death, the state of Colorado made some changes on their legal blood alcohol content limit. One year later the legal limit was changed and remains to be 0.08, according to dmv.org. For DWAI, the BAC limit is 0.05%. “The news channel asked us to be involved in the public awareness campaign and that’s why we went on TV,” said Jim Murphy. “We were interviewed by the news station to have the drinking limit or else the state would lose highway funds. Now almost twelve years later, they just recently changed the law that if you get three or more DUIs it is considered a felony. Colorado was one of the last states to do that.” For a first offense of DWAI, you have 8 points towards license suspension, a fine between 200 and 500 dollars, can serve up to 180 days in jail, and serve up to 48 hours of community service. For a DUI, your license is revoked for 9 months, you can be fined anywhere from 600 to 1,000 dollars, can serve up to one year in jail, receive alcohol education and serve up to 96 hours of community service. With having assaulted someone and caught twice with illegal drugs, Bogacz eventually got out of jail after 11 years for good behavior. “As you get older unfortunately you see many people through life sadly that don’t know when to stop drinking and driving. When you have a very young person do it as a college kid they are just learning through life,” said Jim Murphy. “Bogacz should have known better, especially when his father was a cop. I would have been more empathetic towards a college student because they are just learning.” “I think that people underestimate the influence of alcohol and they really need to be educated about how to keep their blood alcohol levels within reasonable limits, particularly if they are going to drive,” said Barbara Murphy. “This means knowing the difference between the alcohol content of different types of drinks, as well as understand the importance of limiting the amount of drinks they consume per hour, and designate someone to be a driver or call a cab to drive them to and from a social gathering where they will be engaged in drinking alcohol.” “We still miss him dearly, it’s something that we cannot completely heal from,” said Jason’s cousin Tamara Vining. “I missed seeing him grow up, if he were to graduate from college or to get married. His brother and sister just got married and we were all there and shared in that as a family. [Also we would miss out on] if Jason were to have children [someday in the future]. It’s a lifetime of loss.” |
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