Former Atanta Hawk guard Mookie Blaylock was charged with second-degree vehicular homicide for the Friday afternoon wreck in Jonesboro, about 20 miles south of Atlatnta, the Clayton County Solicitor told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Blaylock, 46, was also charged with making an improper lane change, driving on the wrong side of the road, driving on a suspended license and crossing into the median, Solicitor Tasha Mosley said.
All of the charges are misdemeanors. But Blaylock’s charges could be upgraded pending the results of toxicology tests, Mosley said. Second-degree homicide was the appropriate charge because investigators do not believe there was any malice, intent or contributing factors, such as alcohol, Mosley said. The charges were announced Monday after Mosley met with Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson and Jonesboro Police Chief Franklin Allen.
“We’re working under the hypothesis that this was a medical emergency,” Allen told The AJC. “We can’t rule drugs and alcohol out, but we also can’t say it’s a contributing factor.”
Blaylock is accused of crossing the center of Tara Boulevard, causing a head-on wreck that killed Monica Murphy, a front-seat passenger in the other vehicle, according to police. Murphy, her husband and Blaylock were all injured and transported to Atlanta Medical Center, Allen said.
Blaylock was unresponsive and placed on life support at the hospital, but his condition improved over the weekend. Murphy died within hours of the wreck after undergoing surgery for internal injuries, police said.
Murphy’s husband, Frankie, sustained a broken ankle in the crash, but said Monday he’s not sure when the emotional void of losing his wife will heal. The couple had just pulled onto Tara Boulevard from a fast-food restaurant when Blaylock’s Cadillac Escalade appeared as if out of nowhere, Frankie Murphy told Channel 2 Action News.
“The number one thing in my life. Irreplaceable,” Murphy said of his wife. “There’s nothing that can get her back, there’s nothing that can replace the hole that’s been left.”
Blaylock’s family has told police that he was being treated for seizures at the time of the crash, but the exact cause is still not known, Allen said. Blaylock remained in serious condition Monday and has not released a public statement regarding the crash.
