‘All I Saw Were (Blinding) Lights,’ Driver Says at Manslaughter Trial

An emotional, often teary Sunset Beach woman told jurors Tuesday that the last thing she remembered seeing before her car collided with an oncoming vehicle last November, killing three Mission Viejo women, was headlights shining brightly in her eyes.

Kym Larnell Murphy, 25, formerly of Oxnard, also testified in a criminal trial against her that she had two glasses of wine and a “teeny bit” of cocaine during a four-hour modeling session before getting into her car shortly before 3 a.m. Nov. 10.

She was southbound on Pacific Coast Highway about 15 minutes later, approximately half a mile south of Seal Beach Boulevard, when her full-size car apparently crossed the center line and crashed into an oncoming sports car. Police estimated both cars were traveling about 50 m.p.h., the speed limit.

“It was very dark and hard to see on that road,” she said. “All I saw were lights in front of my eyes --just like that. They were right in front of me. They were blinding.”

Three longtime friends from high school days--Deborah Lee Slemmons, 20, the driver of the sports car, and her passengers, Dawn Joy Utterback, 18, and Diane Mae Druckrey, 21--were killed in the crash. They were believed to have been returning home from a nearby restaurant.

Murphy was arrested and charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter and one count of driving under the influence of alcohol. Testimony has indicated that her blood-alcohol level was 0.11%, just over the 0.10% limit that the law recognizes as being too drunk to drive.

Prosecution testimony, which began March 26, indicated that Murphy had gone to a modeling session at an apartment in Huntington Beach and got lost on the way back to the home she shared with her boyfriend in Sunset Beach.

Cocaine Use Admitted

Under questioning by Deputy Dist. Atty. John Lett, Murphy admitted using cocaine about two dozen times but said the only effect was “possibly being a little more awake.”

Two witnesses in a car she passed have testified that as the road curved to the right, Murphy continued straight into the oncoming lane, hitting the Slemmons car, Lett said.

Murphy testified that she thought she was in her own lane but, being unfamiliar with the road, may have gone into a left-turn lane thinking that she still was in her regular lane. She said there was no time to step on the brakes when the lane ran out and the oncoming lights flashed in her face.

Her attorney, Scott Gailen of Beverly Hills, claims the state road is poorly marked and lacks lighting, making it dangerous. He indicated during a recess that both the victims’ families and Murphy may sue the state in civil actions.

Still recovering from serious injuries to her legs, liver and face, the wheelchair-bound Murphy, whose facial injuries made it difficult to hear her, rejected several offers to take a break late in the afternoon as her crying increased.

But her inability to compose herself after four hours on the witness stand forced Superior Court Judge Phillip E. Cox to call a halt to the day’s questioning.

Family and friends of the victims and Murphy have attended most of the trial, as has a member of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, who said the organization monitors most trials involving fatalities allegedly caused by drunk drivers.