On Monday, February 11, 2019, Stephen Murphy, who is blind, and his guide dog, Amilia, were struck by a car while crossing Hrubetz Rd SE near Liberty Rd S. The collision knocked both Murphy and Amilia onto Liberty Rd S, where passersby stopped to render aid and call police. The driver of the vehicle that struck Murphy and Amilia fled the scene and did not contact police.
Murphy was transported to Salem Health with serious injuries. Amilia was transported by a family friend to a veterinarian clinic. At this time police believe that both are recovering from their injuries.
Yesterday, Salem Police officers were called by the owner of the vehicle that struck Murphy. The owner stated they had loaned the vehicle to an acquaintance, Donald Crume age 49 of Salem, who had returned the car with new damage. Crume gave the owner a different reason for the damage, so the owner contacted a repairperson to fix it. When the repairperson saw the damage they told the owner they believed the vehicle had possibly struck a person. This convicned the owner to do the right thing and call the police to report the suspicious damage.
Based on the damage to the vehicle and evidence that was found at the crash scene, officers were able to determine this was the vehicle used in the hit and run of Murphy and Amilia. Officers located Crume and arrested him for Hit and Run Felony, Hit and Run of an Animal, Assault III and unrelated warrants.
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