MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee man pleaded guilty Friday to being legally drunk and speeding in a 2019 vehicle crash that killed an off-duty police officer, prosecutors said.
Marquell Griffin, 52, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident involving death, driving under the influence of intoxicants or drugs, and other charges in the death of Memphis police Lt. Myron Fair, the Shelby County district attorney's office said.
Griffin had been scheduled to begin trial on Monday. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 16.
Fair had just gotten off work and was waiting at a Memphis intersection when Griffin's SUV struck Fair's vehicle from behind, causing it to flip and roll over.
Investigators found the SUV was traveling 117 miles per hour 5 seconds before the March 2019 crash, and 94 miles per hour at impact, prosecutors said.
Griffin, who has two prior DUI convictions, had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit in Tennessee. Marijuana also was found in his vehicle, prosecutors said.