State Supreme Court rejects Las Vegas driver’s appeal

By Cy Ryan

Friday, Feb. 4, 2011 | 3:45 p.m.

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a Las Vegas motorist who expressed concern for his tools but not for the victims in a traffic accident in which one woman was killed and another lost both her legs.

Steven N. Murray was convicted of vehicular homicide and DUI causing substantial bodily harm. He was sentenced to 10 years to life for the July 2008 accident on the Boulder Highway.

The court said there was no error when District Judge Michelle Leavitt admitted evidence at the trial that Murray never expressed concern for his victims. The court said Murray was worried about only his tools after the accident.

Murray’s truck hit the curb, struck Patricia Hoff who died and injured Porsche Hughes who lost both of her legs.

The court also backed the judge who refused to grant a mistrial based on the admission of evidence that Murray had trace amounts of morphine sulphate in his system.

And it rejected Murray’s claim that Detective William Redfairn was improperly identified at trial as an intoxication expert but he was an expert only in accident reconstruction.

There was testimony at the trial that the primary cause of the accident was Murray’s impairment. He contended he swerved to avoid another vehicle that was encroaching in his lane.

His truck veered onto the curb, striking the two women who were waiting at a bus stop. The vehicle then flipped and rolled over twice before coming to rest on its side.

Besides his prison sentence, Murray was also fined $26,000.