Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore told WAFB-TV that former LSU running back Richard Murphy was officially charged Thursday with a total of eight counts, including two counts of vehicular homicide, for his part in a June 14 crash downtown.
Murphy, 39, was charged with a bill of information after a grand jury indicted him for driving his truck with a suspended driver’s license, no proof of insurance and twice above the posted speed limit where his F-250 crashed into a F-150 where passengers, 94-year-old Robert Tarver and his daughter-in-law Carla, were both killed.
The driver of the vehicle Bobby Tarver the husband of Carla Tarver, was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries and is still recovering.
Among the charges handed down to Murphy were one count each of first-degree vehicular negligent injuring, operating a vehicle with intoxicated, reckless operation, traffic-control signals, security/insurance required and operating while license is suspended.
According to an affidavit Murphy, who was a running back and special teams played at LSU from 2006-2010, was driving eastbound on Main Street at 4:20 p.m., while the F-150 was headed south on Ninth Street when Murphy is alleged to have struck the passenger side of the F-150.
Video evidence, obtained by detectives, showed Murphy running a red light at the intersection just ahead of the crash, while additional surveillance footage showed him running a right light on Main Street before the crash.
Murphy’s vehicle was found to be traveling at 58 miles per hour upon impact, evidence obtained by investigators who downloaded the data from the airbag in Murphy’s truck. The posted speed limit on Main Street is 30 miles per hour.
Murphy, whose bond was set at more $100,000, was subjected to a blood draw because of the severity of accident, a screening that takes several weeks, and produced a blood-alcohol level of 0.13%.
Murphy signed with LSU after a standout career at Rayville High, starting in two of 40 games and was honored by wearing the No. 18 jersey as a senior. He rushed 53 times for 511 yards and two touchdowns, along with 29 receptions for 214 yards during a career in which he suffered a torn ACL three games into his career.
He added 15 tackles on special teams.
Murphy played for the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011-12. He earned a general studies degree from LSU in ’10.
