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Woman pleads guilty in deadly Gilbert crash

Posted at 10:50 AM, Mar 10, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-10 13:35:48-05

A Chandler woman has pleaded guilty in a 2014 wrong-way crash on a Gilbert freeway that killed a young couple from Mesa.

Court records say 70-year-old Patricia Neal Murphy entered her guilty pleas Wednesday to two counts of second-degree and one of felony endangerment under a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Murphy previously pleaded not guilty to those charges plus additional counts of endangerment.

She was severely injured in the May 18, 2014 crash.

Those killed were 25-year-old Michael Ruquet and 20-year-old Ashley Adea.

Authorities said Murphy drove the wrong way on Loop 202 for more than 10 miles before her car collided head-on with another vehicle.

Court records indicated Murphy's had a blood-alcohol content of 0.18 percent. A driver is presumed to be legally drunk in Arizona at 0.08 percent.