Family of wrong-way driving victim sues drunk driver, his wife, wedding venue, security company and restaurant
CANADIAN COUNTY, Okla. May 20 2021 Seven months after a 19-year-old girl was killed in a crash involving a wrong-way driver, the driver of the other vehicle is facing a wrongful death lawsuit.
Malcolm Penney pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal crash Tuesday morning.
He was arrested after police said he was the driver who hit 19-year-old Marissa Murrow in a head-on collision when he was driving the wrong direction on the Kilpatrick Turnpike. Murrow died as a result.
“It feels very much like there’s no remorse, there’s no regret, there’s no full understanding of the magnitude of what you’ve done,” said Marissa’s mother, Kristy Murrow.
Murrow said she was angry when she learned Penney had four previous DUI convictions in four different states. She said she doesn’t understand why states don’t consider past convictions from other states when courts decide on proper punishments for repeated DUIs.
“You should be able to communicate state to state so that it’s cumulative and each progressive consequence gets more significant so that these can be stopped,” Murrow said.
Marissa’s parents filed a wrongful death suit against Penney, as well as others they hold responsible.
According to the lawsuit, they allege Penney was at a wedding with his wife and drinking for 10 hours straight.
They go on to allege that he was over-served by the company catering the bar service, then allowed to drive home by the Edmond venue’s staff, the security company hired for the event, and Penney’s wife.
The Murrows said they are all responsible for letting him drive when he was allegedly visibly intoxicated.
“People could have taken a step, should have taken a step and it would have saved her life,” Murrow said.
She and her husband want to see changes in Oklahoma law that would facilitate better communication between court systems when considering convictions from outside state lines.
They also want to see some sort of rule that would require individuals to prevent someone clearly impaired from driving, or require them to get the impaired person another ride home. Anything to prevent a terrible tragedy like this one from happening to another family.
KFOR
