OKC area couple talk about daughter killed by drunk driver
On Thursday, May 23, Trooper Russell Callicoat and other officers warned the public about the dangers of drinking and boating and not using flotation devices on boats or seatbelts in cars.
It was part of a statewide effort called the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer – from Memorial Day to Labor Day “Make sure you have a plan before you go out. Don’t wait till you get there to make a plan,” Callicoat said.
The public was warned at the press conference held at the Xtreme Marina that drinking, driving and boating don’t mix.
An Oklahoma City area couple who lost their 19-year-old daughter due to a drunk driver in 2020 were special guests at the press conference, hosted by Scott Welch of Neighbors Building Neighborhoods.
Jeffrey and Kristine Murrow, who also have a son Corbin, spoke passionately of Marissa Renee Murrow.
Marissa was a sophomore at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond when she was on her way home after a homecoming weekend on Oct. 3, 2020. A drunk driver going the wrong way on the Kilpatrick Highway crashed into her head-on.
The driver, Malcolm Douglas Penney, 42, was convicted Feb. 1, 2022, of second-degree murder and sentenced to 45 years in prison, and to 10 years for leaving the scene of an accident.
Penny, who was slightly injured in the accident, had just left a wedding reception.
He had been convicted of drunk driving in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Louisiana but never spent any appreciable time in jail for his offenses.
“I know every parent believes their children are amazing,” Kristy Murrow said at the press conference. “We’re no different. Our daughter was very easy child to raise. She is kind, she is thoughtful, she is creative and imaginative. She loves to sing. God gave her a beautiful singing voice.”
Jeff Murrow noted that their daughter lived an amazing life.
“She only had a little over 7,000 days on this earth, but she made every moment of them count,” he said. “Now we’re trying to do everything we can to give her death some kind of meaning.”
To that end, about one year ago the couple started an organization called Victims of Impaired Drivers.
VOID has several goals, including making people aware of the perils of driving drunk or drugs.
“In 2022 there were 13,524 deaths in the United States due to drunk driving alone. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol safety office said in 1917 the number of drug impaired fatalities surpassed the number of fatalities due to alcohol impairment, and every year that number has increase,” he said.
Another mission of VOID is to bring together families who have suffered the same tragedy.
“Every family going through this is going through it alone. They don’t realize there is support. So, we started reaching out,” Jeff said.
Using Facebook, VOID has an online following of a thousand people. On their website, they have pictures of 100 victims.
On a poster at the press conference, there were pictures of 63 victims, including Sheryl Bichsel, 56, of Eufaula, who was thrown from the motorcycle Dan Kirby was driving July 23, 2022, after a night of partying.
Kirby was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
“Every week brings us new families. We are helping them honor the victims,” Jeff said.
