Woman charged following tow truck mayhem
The events described in a criminal complaint against Precious A. Murphy would read like scenes from a screwball action comedy if not for the very serious consequences that resulted.
Milwaukee police say Murphy led them on a brief chase while driving a loaded tow truck, then crashed into a minivan, nearly killing the driver. Then she endured Taser and pepper spray shots and bit an officer before escaping in a bystander’s car and fleeing to western Wisconsin, where she checked into a hospital under an alias.
According to the complaint:
A Milwaukee motorcycle officer saw a tow truck improperly towing a car north on Pierce St. on Sept. 19 and initiated a traffic stop, but the tow truck sped away through stop signs and crashed into a Chevy Astro van at Locust St. The car being towed flipped and the van smashed into a building.
A woman driving the van suffered multiple, serious internal injuries and fractures and remained in critical condition days later. Her two children in the van were also injured.
Murphy ran from the tow truck into a Ford Focus that had pulled over because of the crash. Officers on the scene tried to pull her out the passenger door, but she fought back, biting an officer on the arm hard enough to draw blood. Pepper spray and a Taser shot had little effect.
One officer reached in to grab the keys from the ignition but the ring broke and left the car’s key in the ignition.
The Ford crept forward, knocking over a police motorcycle, and by then Murphy had slid over to the driver’s seat and sped off. Officers turned their attention to the crash scene.
The next day, the owner of the tow truck told police that Murphy was in a hospital in Whitehall, in far western Wisconsin, under an assumed name. Trempealeau County sheriff’s deputies arrested her there.
But Murphy wasn’t done creating scenes, according to the complaint.
On Sept. 21, she was transported by a Milwaukee police officer to a hospital in Milwaukee. At the hospital, Murphy told the male officer she needed feminine hygiene products, so a female nurse escorted Murphy into a restroom. The nurse said once inside, Murphy pushed her into a corner, turned off the lights and tried to lock the door.
Responding to the nurse’s screams, the officer pushed into the restroom and struggled with Murphy, who bit him on the arm before he was able to handcuff her.
Murphy eventually admitted taking off from the first siren because she knew there was a warrant out for her arrest for violating probation. She said she drove the stolen Ford back to the tow company lot, got keys for another vehicle and took off for Black River Falls.
Murphy of Milwaukee is charged with two counts each of fleeing and eluding, causing great bodily harm, two counts each of hit-andrun, great bodily harm, two counts of driving with a suspended license, causing great bodily harm, two counts of resisting an officer, causing injury, and car theft.
Murphy is being held at the Milwaukee County Jail on a $75,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 3.