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Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray.
BOSTON - Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray was fined and cited because he apparently fell asleep behind the wheel and drove 108 miles per hour before careening off the road and crashing a state-issued vehicle last November.
A state police report detailing the 20 seconds prior to his car striking a rock ledge and the five seconds just after showed Murray was traveling at speeds ranging from 75 mph to 99 mph before driving off the road on I-190 in Sterling, Mass.
The crash data showed the vehicle hit 108 mph just before impact, according to the report released Tuesday.
Murray, who not injured in the crash, was fined $555 for speeding, lane and seat belt violations.
Read NBC News affiliate WHDH.com's complete coverage
Back in November, Murray said he lost control of the vehicle on black ice, causing the crash. The car skidded and rolled over, but Murray walked away from the wreckage. Data collected from the black box and released Tuesday led state police to rule that Murray fell asleep behind the wheel. Black ice was not the cause of the crash.
“Happened very quickly. I think the data says in a matter of seconds. My recollection is that after the car stopped rolling I realized I was okay, got out of the car, there was snowy conditions. I walked up the side of the road. There were icy conditions there. As first responders came to the scene, they commented on the black ice and warned each other of the slippery conditions -- so I assumed that’s what caused my accident,” Murray told WHDH.com.
"I did say I was wearing my seat belt. My recollection I was wearing my seat belt. After I walked away from that accident, I certainly thought I was wearing my seat belt, but again, I'm going to accept responsibility."
Murray did take a breathalyzer at the scene of the crash. The test showed no signs of alcohol involved.
Murray said he will reimburse the state for the car. The vehicle, an unmarked 2007 Ford Crown Victoria, was purchased for about $35,000 and valued at $9,000 at the time of the crash, according to The Boston Globe.
"Certainly people might have their questions. All I can say is this is what happened, I'm thankful to be alive."
Murray's driver record shows two citations for speeding; in 1992 and 2006.
In a statement on Tuesday night, Governor Deval Patrick said:
"The Lt. Governor has taken responsibility for the accident and is counting his blessings. As his colleague and his friend, so am I."
Others not so lucky
Other political officials who failed to wear seat belts in crashes haven't fared as well as Murray:
- In 2011, Colorado lawmaker Suzanne Williams, who advocated stricter seat belt laws, did not have her three-year-old grandson restrained during a crash in Texas. Williams, who was driving, was the only passenger in her car wearing a seat belt and the crash killed a passenger in another car. The three-year-old did not die.
- Drifting asleep at the wheel was considered a possible cause of a summer 2011 car crash that killed Bob Stenehjem, the majority leader of North Dakota's Republican-controlled state Senate. He was on a fishing trip in Alaska.
- In 2007, former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine broke his left leg, several ribs, his sternum and collarbone after a car crash. In that instance, Corzine was not wearing a seat belt and the sport utility vehicle he was traveling in was speeding when it collided with another car.
NBC News affiliate WHDH in Boston and msnbc.com's Sevil Omer contributed to this report, as did Reuters.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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A politician in a car accident with no fatalities or alcohol related? So it must be true that the end is near!
This guy apparently has friends in low places.
Yeah, if he had been drunk and killed someone he could have been voted a US senator and loved by all. Massachusetts has already done that once, why not again?
The guy has to be a democrat, because MSNBC didn't mention his political persuasion. If the guy was a republican, the headline would have told us. Just a minor ommision I am sure. :-).
No story here at all wtf are you printing this even for lol
What a lucky bastard... to crash at 108 mph and walk away from the scene is almost supernatural... maybe he has sold his soul to the devil? Given that he is a politician that is very, very likely...
Both Governor Deval Patrick and Lt. Governor Murray, of Massachusetts, are indeed Democrats. But MBSNC attempts to hide that from you. There's something very slimy about that, but it's what you get from the subversive, leftist media. You may as well be reading Pravda.
That's really too bad. I'd rather prefer anyone that goes 108 mph on any public road to just die, before they end up killing someone else.
I tried going 100 mph on an isolated road once, and found that there is a very big loss of ability to control the car at those speeds. Any small thing can send the car rolling. Doing it on a public road is just plain inexcusable.
Neversurrender, they didn't have to mention those extra car crashes at all if they didn't want to.
That comes from a addict of Faux Newz where just this morning the was NO NEWS in the political section about Bachmann pulling a Palin or Perry tucking tail & running home to mommy AND where the GOP has never been accused of doing a single thing wrong...they still support Wide stance Larry Craig, whoremonger Vitter & that clown from FLA who likes little boys !
Dasvet
The guy has to be a democrat, because MSNBC didn't mention his political persuasion. If the guy was a republican, the headline would have told us. Just a minor ommision I am sure. :-).
Took some doing, and didn't really care til I saw your comment Dasvet..but, YES .. lmao. he is a dem.
2nd..this story is over 2 frickn months old..hmm
j70141? a crown vic will EASILY and with lots of control, do 108.
I'm surprised that a ticket was given. Not usually the NORM. Even for the lowly city cop. While the area coppers, city/county/state was looking for a certain vehicle lately, a statie clocked a car doing 127. Ended up being an off-duty reserve deputy. No ticket..as normal.
Yes all of the politicians mentioned above are Democrats except for the one Republican who was identifyed as such. What do you expect from MSNBC?
Suzanne Williams of Colorado is a State Senator, a Democart and of course we all know John Corzine, former Democrat Governor of New Jersey, who still doesn't know where the missing client funds totalling $1.2Billion from the now bankrupt MF Global are.
TK, how MSDNC can even spell the word journalism, isn't even part of their lexicon. NBC news does this all the time, and it so obvious it is pitiful, if one considers that they try to fashion themselves as a legitimate news source. They are the American Pravda for the Obama coronations.
Why does one side sound like the other is imperfect? Both sides are greedy, both sides lie, steal and cheat. Both sides claim to be Religious in one form or another ... And as typical, both sides are full of Sh!t. (If it would have been a Republican, there would have been booze and hookers in the car with him.) (If it would have been a Democrat, there would have been drugs and a Homosexual Hooker in the car with him.)
Write-in vote "None of the Above" 2012!
I just wish MSNBC, and others would just treat each side the same, and do their job of investigative reporting, and then present it in a non-partisan format. That seems to beyond the comprehension of the news media today. The mainstream media essentially campaigned for Obama in 2008, and are continuing to turn a blind eye to anything detrimental to Obama now.
First of all, your name for Fox News as Faux Newz is very old and very childish. Now as for Fox not reporting Bachmann as withdrawing from the race, from what I can determine that fact was not known at 6:00am. It was originally reported by another news agency that she was suspending her campaign to consider her options. It was a little later berfore Bachmann announced that she was dropping out of the race. She certainly did not "tuck her tail" and run. Why should she remain in a race where she has to continually race money to support a losing cause. Also, Perry has not tucked tail and ran either. He is staying in the race at least until the South Carolina Primary. You certainly have your descriptions for republicans lined up. Have you got anything comparable written up for the democrats? I know there are plenty of democrats that do exactly the same things these republicans are being accused of doing. The main difference is the MSM media fails to mention the stories and fail (purposely) to mention their political party.
How do you fall asleep and speed at the same time? My legs go limp when I fall asleep, and my car would slow down, not speed up, if I were to fall asleep behind the wheel.
You HOPE!
I *hope* I don't fall asleep behind the wheel in the first place! Yikes!
Maybe he had a dream of driving really fast?
the hookers @ss probably was pushing on the gas pedal.
With a Dem a hooker is a possibliity. With a Rep it would have been a teenage boy.
I have to say must be a pretty safe car for what took place and he wasn't injured.
Yup! It's a mystery. But hey, this is Massachusetts where three consecutive former speakers of the House have been convicted and jailed for crimes, where a senator got away with vehicular homicide, and little children are abused by the church.
Yup! It's a mystery. Although he was fined $555 for speeding, undesignated lane changes, and failure to wear a seat belt. He also will be paying for the car. All that aside, Mr Murray is really a pretty decent guy.
And don't forget us lucky taxpayers get to pay another $35k to buy a new replacement car, less the $9k he payed for the old.
I agree. How do you fall asleep at the wheel and then have the vehicle accelerate to 108 mph. And exactly why does the Lieutenant Governor have such difficulty remembering that he was not in fact wearing a seat belt? And how is it that a 4 year old Ford Crown Victoria (built like a tank) and which is said to have cost around $35,000 become valued at around $9,000 as of the time of the accident? The blue book seems to indicate that's a very low estimate of value.
But it's okay. We have Democrat politicians in California who crash cars too.
They wonder why the American public is so disenfranchised with Government?? This lying A-hole is going to keep his job. Any other person (not in a Government position) would be immediately terminated, and charged the vehicles actual cost. WAKE UP!! This will NOT change unless WE (the people) change it!!
What exactly do you want to change? What new governmental intrusion would you like to add to the myriad of laws already on the books? If you're got a specific proposal for a new law, then convince your state legislator to introduce it, or start a petition to do so. But don't assume that because you're personally upset - for some reason - that the rest of "we the people" are demanding some kind of unspecified change.
South Dakota former Governor Bill Janklow ran a stop sign and killed someone...He got away from it for awhile...now he has cancer...Bad things happen to bad people...
Karma is krap. Bad things happen to good people just as often. As do good things. The universe (or God, if you will) is not in the habit of dispensing justice nor rewards according to your "worth".
Howie... karma is krap? oh yeah? so why do tornadoes always hit the trailer parks? These folks have bad karma all around...
What an irresponsible piece of garbage. He could have injured or killed other innocent drivers unfortunate enough to run into him. I have as little sympathy for people like this as I do for drunk drivers who decide to play with others' lives by getting behind the wheel.
Hot-in-Miami,
Agreed 100%!
Get over yourself, you did read the part about being asleep right. I think irresponsible pieces of garbage are people who title themselves "hot".
WOW!! $355 for speeding @ 100+mph!
They really threw the book at him.
OOOPS - My Bad
Hello is anyone home? We have all of this great technology but no one to put it into use! If On Star can open up your car with a satelite signal , it sure as hellfire can shut down your engine with a signal! Guess what ? No more high speed chases with thieves and Drunks killing innocent people on the Roadway! Get with it Law Enforcement Agencies and welcome to 2012 ! Put the playboy Magazines down and get to work ! Every Vehicle made should have a kill switch built into it!
Marcel-2112373,
Excellent idea. I'm sure there is technology that could be tweeked to be able to identify a speeding vehicle and shut it down until the police show up and "reset" the vehicle (after issuing the appropriate fine or fines).
@skyjord - that should read $555.00 (I know - what's $200 bucks)
Just what we need... more government intrusion into our lives. How far do you want to take this concept? Hint... ever read 1984?
You know Marcel that is a great idea. We should also put monitor systems on computers and limit all people to two hours per day and four on the weekends, with only one hour per day allowed for anyone playing video games too. Anybody who is using a computer for purposes other than college research, government duties, or corporate business reasons should not have full access to their property or effects thereof.
We should also make it mandatory that all people must wear helmets and while mowing the lawn. Never know when one of them might fall off the mower and hurt their brains from having such thin skulls and all.
Hell, I have an even better idea. Lets make it mandatory that in order to even post a comment on the internet you must first request permission from the federal government. Pay a $125 dollar handling fee, a $50 tax, plus have a notary of public sign off on it.
In fact in your case I think that you should have a personal goverment agent from the FBI, DEA, BATFE, and SS to supervise you 24/7 365. They should sleep with you in your bed and follow you everywhere, as you seem to enjoy the notion of having a nanny to whipe your ass and chin.
Asinine and vapid suggestions as to the regulation of private property without regard to the 4th Amendment of the US Constitution is why the Republic on the whole is in shambles and Myrmidons as yourself are causing it to degrade at an exponential rate.
Why have you just been ridiculed? Because your sugestion is ridiculous and therefore worthy of it. You have surely removed all doubt among those that are the wiser about private property. Public property is another story, but that isn't what you suggested.
Having fallen asleep behind the wheel, I can say speeding is very possible. There is this thing called "sleep paralysis" that happens, and that could certainly cause someone to press down harder on the accelerator and speed up...
My own incident of sleep-driving resulted in no accidents or injuries. I was on miles of desert road literally in the middle of nowhere. A little fatigue and a splash of road-stare, and I was awakened by a jerking steering wheel about a quarter mile off the road, heading for absolutely nothing, but it woke me up quick! I steered back onto the road, pulled over for a while got my focus back, and headed back on my way, until I found a roadside diner, had some food and a nap in my back seat! Not going to do that again!
Sleep paralysis is what would *prevent* you from pressing harder on the accelerator pedal. It means that your body stops moving, in order to prevent you from hurting yourself while asleep. If your leg won't move, it won't extend the foot and press harder against the resistance of the pedal. I'm not saying that's not possible, I'm just saying that doesn't sound like sleep paralysis, but something else at work.
Driving position/posture can vary a lot from person to person and car to car, under the right conditions going limp could press the gas as the drivers weight slides forward in the seat. And a Crown-vic can build speed pretty fast.
Interesting...
this article mentions four politicians but only mentions the political party of one of them; Bob Stenehjem. That made me wonder why his party was worth mentioning but the other three were not so I checked. No surprise, the other three are Democrats.
Bias doesn't have to be obvious. Subtle things like this skew the reader’s perception. A casual reader will remember 4 politicians who did stupid things behind the wheel and will remember that the Republican Party was mentioned.
Shame on you MSNBC. Either their political parties are not important for this story or it's important for ALL of them. Teach your "reporters" and, more importantly, your "editors" to keep the bias out of the news.
I agree with your sediment but unfortunately MSNBC is doing exactly what their bosses are telling them to do. At every opportunitiy slam the republicans. The subtle ones like in this story are the most effective because most people don't realize they are being persuaded. I read MSNBC more for entertainment than enlightenment, especially the blogs
Yup, another dikhed democrat.
Do you make the same kind of intelligent comment when a Republican does something stupid?
If it were a Republican the Democrats would be in here saying that same thing. The question is, would you defend them?
Who, me? Yes, I would, and I have. Name-calling is uncalled for here. Or anywhere, for that matter. We should be civilized enough by now to not act like school children.
Unfortunately many people are not.
He got some sleeping "wood" in his leg apparently.
No charge for reckless operation???
Other politicians not so lucky....Suzanne Williams no mention which party (Democrat)....John Corzine no mention which party(Democrat)....and Bob Stenehjem North Dakota Republican..I guess you just forgot to mention that the first and third not so lucky politicians were Democrats...fair,unbiased, and balanced reporting...Just like the Boston Globe and NYT and NBC..Typical Liberal pathetic reporting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KC,
You beat me to it.
funny how our elected officials do not drink. In this case sounds like either he is a lousy driver or had been drinking. gee who knew
Chuck:
The article clearly states there was no evidence of alcohol in the breathalyzer test.
No blood test. Probably drugs.
He should be billed for the cost of car repairs but I doubt that will happen.
Sounded like the car was totaled to me. No repairs, but he's gonna pay the estimated value, right? (Just like my insurance, you never get what it would cost to actually replace!)
I can't say if he is lying or not. But those naysayers who think you can't accelerate while sleeping are just plain wrong. I can think of several plausible scenarios where falling asleep at the wheel would result in acceleration. For example, you might slump forward slightly, adding slight pressure forwards on the accelerator. Or, perhaps he was already accelerating slightly when he fell asleep, and so the acceleration just continued unchecked. Anyone who drives knows that it takes just a few millimeters of movement on flat pavement to go from coasting to accelerating.
And a four-year-old Crown Vic being $9000 sounds about right, depending on the exact model and condition/mileage. They are fleet vehicles, and around where I live, where there is a huge used-car market due to lower incomes, you find a ton of used Crown Vics...meaning, they are relatively inexpensive used.
Perhaps he really *does* have a lead foot! :-)
Third speeding ticket! 108 mph! Fire this idiot before the state is liable for his stupidity when he kills someone.
Anyone can fall asleep. This is just a reminder that it can happen to anyone. Regardless of who you are. Regardless if you are alcohol and drug free.
If you are feeling tired stop and take a break. Walk around to get your circulation going. Wash your face with cold water. Drink a (non alcoholic) beverage. If none of that helps call someone.
Or get some sleep?
It sounds like a suicide attempt because people can't sleep and depress the accelerator at the same time. Think about it.
Anyone else want a Crown Victoria now? I mean, 108 mph, no seatbelt, and uninjured? Sounds like a well-built car to me! (And/or *extremely* good luck!) :-)
He was probably sexting at the time and embarrass to admit it.