A 21-year-old man was convicted of second-degree murder for a car crash that occurred on January 11, 2018 in which three people were killed at an intersection in Lancaster, CA. Davion Murphy was found guilty this week after a jury deliberated just short of two hours.
The Lexus that was driven by Murphy struck the side of a Subaru WRX, killing Yovany Salazar Calzada, 23, Rocio Perez Lopez, 26, and Calzada’s grandmother, Virginia Martinez, 61. Multiple witnesses came forward and claimed Murphy had been smoking cannabis 30-40 minutes before the crash. Murphy had three passengers who all survived the collision. The black box in the car had determined he was driving at least 88 mph in a 40 mph zone when he ran a red light.
The prosecution argued that Murphy’s blood test had shown he had been driving under the influence of cannabis. Murphy has been in jail since his arrest in November of 2018. His sentence hearing is set for April 22, 2020. He is facing a minimum of 15 years to life and a maximum of 45 years to life in state prison.
