4 months after East Oakland sidewalk crash, survivor faces long road to recovery

Nearly four months after a horrific crash that killed three people in East Oakland, Deshawn Murphy Sr. remains hospitalized, unable to walk, eat or speak as he works to recover from severe injuries.

Murphy, 52, was walking to a corner store around 11:15 p.m. on May 16 near International Boulevard and 85th Avenue when a truck slammed onto the sidewalk.

Police say the crash killed three people and injured three others, including Murphy. Investigators said the driver fled the scene before witnesses chased down and detained the 17-year-old driver.

Witnesses said the crash did not appear to be intentional. Police have not publicly said what caused it.

Before the crash, Murphy was working at UC Berkeley. His partner, Ora Meacham, described him as an active, social person who could make friends almost anywhere.

"Everywhere he goes, he makes friends. He's just a very kind, loving person," Meacham said.

Now, Murphy faces a dramatically different life.

Doctors amputated his right leg after he was dragged in the crash. He also suffered severe brain injuries and other traumatic injuries.

Murphy was initially treated at Highland Hospital. He is now at Kentfield Hospital, where he is receiving neurological treatment, physical therapy, and speech therapy.

Gia Smith, an acute care nurse practitioner at Kentfield Hospital, said Murphy has made progress since arriving at the facility.

"He has a helmet for neuroprotection. He also has a PEG tube [because] he's not able to eat. And he's making strides with his swallowing. He was pretty much comatose when he came. Now he's alert, opening his eyes," Smith said.

For Meacham, those seemingly small changes have become major milestones.

"He opens his eyes now. He was not doing that before," she said.  "He follows commands. He tries to say hi. And that's a first. So he's trying to talk.  He's making audible sounds.  And that was something that was not possible a month ago."

But doctors have warned that Murphy's recovery will be a long one, measured in months and years rather than weeks.

Meacham has spent so much time at the hospital caring for Murphy that she lost her job. She said the emotional toll has been overwhelming.

"It doesn't seem like it's happened. But every time I go home and he's not there, it's just heart-wrenching," she said. "There are good days, bad days. I cry pretty much every day."

Despite the challenges, Meacham said she remains hopeful and is focused on Murphy's progress.

"It's going to be a new life, a different life for us. But it's going to be good because he is surrounded by so much love," she said.

Meacham credits Murphy's improvements to what she calls a village of support — his family and the medical staff caring for him at Kentfield Hospital.

The 17-year-old driver is expected to face vehicular manslaughter charges in juvenile court. Because the driver is a minor, the district attorney's office said it cannot comment on the case.