Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich announced Tuesday that a 19-year-old woman was charged with vehicular homicide in the death of high school, college, and professional basketball player Galen Young.
Miracle Rutherford was exceeding the speed limit southbound on Horn Lake Road toward Shelby Drive in southwest Memphis when the crash occurred around 2:45 a.m. on June 5, 2021, according to investigators.
Rutherford’s car went airborne after crossing two northbound lanes, leaving the road, continuing through a yard, and striking the edge of a frame house in the 4500 block of Horn Lake.
There were no injuries reported at the scene of the crash, according to police. Police were told by a woman in the house that she lived there with her adult son, but that he was not present.
Other relatives arrived several hours later to assist in the removal of furniture and debris from the crash site, where they discovered the body of the son, 45-year-old Leslie Galen Young. At the scene, he was pronounced dead.
Young was a standout basketball player for Hillcrest High School and the UNC-Charlotte 49ers, winning the C-USA Tournament MVP award in 1999. He also spent 13 years as a professional basketball in the United States and abroad.
Rutherford was indicted by a grand jury on charges of driving recklessly and causing a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. On a $30,000 bond, she is still free.
