Steve Marcus / File photo
Published Tuesday, March 24, 2009 | 1:48 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, March 24, 2009 | 7:25 p.m.
A jury has been seated after two days of jury selection in the trial of a man charged with running over two women -- killing one and maiming the other -- at a bus stop last year while under the influence of prescription drugs.
A jury of four women and 10 men, which includes two alternates, was seated at about 5:30 p.m. Opening arguments are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Steven N. Murray, 44, is facing one charge of vehicular homicide and two charges of driving while under the influence of a controlled substance resulting in an accident with fatality or bodily harm. The charges are tied to a July 2008 crash that left one woman dead and another woman without her legs.
The three charges are felonies. The vehicular homicide charge can carry a life sentence.
Attorneys had planned opening arguments for Tuesday afternoon but ran into snags during jury selection. At about 3 p.m., a pool of 14 potential jurors was selected, but two of them cited conflicts and were dismissed. One potential juror said he knew a witnesses in the case; a second said he hadn't expected being selected and told the court he didn't think he could be fair and impartial.
Police reports indicate that at the time of the crash, Murray was under the influence of prescription narcotics and told police he had taken Valium and Percocet the night before the early morning crash.
Patricia Hoff, 55, of Las Vegas, who was waiting for the bus to take her to her job at Lowe's, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Porsche Hughes, who was 26 at the time of the accident, is expected to testify against Murray later this week. Hughes, who has two small children, had both legs amputated from the knee down as result of the crash.
Police said Murray's truck left the northbound lanes of the 4800 block of Boulder Highway, near Flamingo, at about 5:36 a.m. on July 7, 2008. His red 2001 Dodge pickup truck went up onto the sidewalk, crashed into the bus stop and came to rest on its passenger side.
Murray was taken to University Medical Center with minor injuries and was arrested.
Murray has previous DUI convictions: in 1991, 1994, and two in 1999, all in Texas, according court records. He has been held in the Clark County Detention Center since his arrest.
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