Abrams man gets year in jail for fatal motorcycle crash

OCONTO – An Abrams man was sentenced to a year in jail for a fatal motorcycle crash nearly three years ago.

Damian L. Murphy, 20, will then serve two years on probation, during which he’ll perform 80 hours of community service, Judge Michael T. Judge decided.

The crash occurred about 10:40 a.m. Aug. 14, 2019, about 10 miles south of Oconto.

According to the criminal complaint, a witness saw an eastbound pickup on County J fail to stop at the stop sign, cross U.S. 41 and collide with the northbound motorcycle in the right lane.

The operator of the motorcycle, Albert Reppert, 71, of Midlothian, Illinois, died soon after arriving at a Green Bay hospital.

The pickup rolled onto its roof, but Murphy and his passenger declined to be transported for treatment.

Murphy, who was 17 at the time of the crash, was charged with homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle. The felony carries a maximum initial sentence of five years in prison and five years of extended supervision.

As part of a plea agreement, Murphy entered no contest pleas to that charge and three additional misdemeanor charges: one count of reckless driving causing bodily harm and two counts of negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Judge accepted the plea agreement, which included approval of a deferred judgment agreement on the felony charge. Judge withheld finding Murphy guilty on the homicide charge, and if he doesn’t violate the terms of the agreement over the next two years, it will be dismissed.

The plea and sentencing on June 6 averted a trial that was to have started the following day.

District Attorney Edward Burke recommended one year in jail on the reckless driving charge and two years of probation on the other two counts. Further, he asked that Murphy not be allowed to possess a firearm or drive for one year.

The recommendation, Burke said, was drawn from discussions with Reppert’s son.

Defense attorney Aaron Krzewinski asked Judge to follow the recommendation.

Krzewinski said Murphy and a friend took a break from farm work that morning and were traveling to Murphy’s home nearby so he could pick up clean clothes to wear later in the day to an FFA program.

The boys told a deputy they stopped at the stop sign, proceeded to the median, didn’t see a motorcycle, continued to cross, when the pickup was struck by the motorcycle just behind the passenger door.

Krzewinski said his client was a good, hardworking person who wasn’t impaired and not distracted at the time of the crash.

Krzewinski acknowledged that at a trial, expert testimony and witnesses would have differed on the speed Murphy crossed the intersection, but doubted the evidence would have shown he was driving carelessly.

“These kids weren’t screwing around,” Krzewinski said. “He had no reason to run a stop sign. He knew this part of the town.”

Murphy began his remarks by offering his “most sincere apologies” to the victim’s family.

“There has not been a day since Aug. 14 that has gone by that I have not thought about it,” he said, reading from a written statement. “I would try to explain the remorse I feel but seem unable to fit into words.”

At this point, Murphy was apparently unable to continue, so Krzewinski finished reading the statement, in which he noted the day started out normally with him going to work.

“That one moment in time has changed my life and the Reppert family’s lives forever, and I understand the magnitude of all this,” he said. “When an accident like this happens, the words I’m sorry come across as very shallow and hollow. I’m sorry beyond words and will live with this every day of my remaining life.”

Judge said he was certain that was the case, adding that Murphy will likely have flashbacks to endure where he will have wished he could have done something differently at the time of the accident.

“But regardless of what we do, what we say, what we come back to here is that there is one, just one, eternal loss here, and that’s Mr. Reppert,” Judge said. “He was out on his bike that day in his lane of traffic, going at the right speed, probably not a care in the world, and bam. He never knew what hit him.”

Judge told Murphy that he was “very fortunate” that he cannot consider prison time under the plea agreement he accepted, noting that the attorneys and the victim’s family worked “to carve out something that they think is appropriate for what happened here.”

“Let me say that again,” Judge said. “I think you’re very fortunate.”

Judge sentenced Murphy to one year in jail on the reckless driving charge, granting him work release privileges and good time, which reduces a sentence one day for each three for good behavior.

Judge then withheld sentence on the other two charges and granted Murphy two years of probation, and ordered him not to possess a firearm or operate a vehicle for one year, and maintain absolute sobriety while on probation.

Judge also ordered restitution and court surcharges totaling $11,413, which has been paid, and $1,254 court costs, DNA surcharges and service fees.

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Contact Kent Tempus at (920) 431-8226 or ktempus@gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Abrams man gets year in jail for fatal motorcycle crash