Police: Boy Scout Hit By Car On Hike Dies

MANORVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Boy Scouts on Long Island are mourning a 12-year-old who was allegedly run over and killed by a drunken driver as he enjoyed a weekend hike with his troupe.

Suffolk County police said Monday that Andrew McMorris of Wading River died at a hospital. Four other scouts were injured, one of them seriously, when they were struck while walking along the shoulder of a road in Manorville on Sunday afternoon.

"Our scouting family is going through a terribly painful time," the Boy Scouts' Suffolk County Council said in a statement. "Please join us in keeping all those affected in your thoughts and prayers."

Thomas Murphy, 59, was arraigned Monday on a charge of driving while intoxicated. His attorney, Steve Flynn, said Murphy extends his sympathies to the victim's family.

"This is a tragedy for everyone," Flynn said, according to Newsday .

The slain boy was part of a group of more than a dozen scouts who were hiking together when the car came barreling into the group, officials and witnesses said.

Manorville Fire Department First Assistant Chief Chris Lindberg said when the department responded to the crash, "the children were on the ground."

Lindberg said the fire department transported uninjured scouts to the Manorville Fire Department headquarters "so the parents wouldn't have to come to the scene of the accident to pick them up."

Residents complained that the road is known for excessive speed.

"On the weekend, this area becomes a nightmare; motorcycles and hot cars racing up and down," said Paul Gotowski, 70. "Why does something terrible have to happen before you do something?"