Graveside Birthday Gathering For Boy Scout Killed By Drunk Driver

WADING RIVER, NY — Monday would have marked Andrew McMorris' 14th birthday. But instead of a party with dancing and music by Michael Jackson, their son's favorite, his parents Alisa and John and sister Ariana commemorated the day by planting daffodils at his grave — and hosting an online gathering for the many who loved him.

Andrew, of Wading River, died in 2018 when a drunk driver plowed into his Boy Scout troop while they were out hiking the Greenbelt Trail in Manorville with his Boy Scout Troop 161; several other scouts were severely injured as a result of the crash. In December, a jury found the driver who hit Andrew, Thomas Murphy, 60, guilty on all counts.

"Sleep escapes me as I wonder what you would look like today, what would you be thinking, what would you be saying," Andrew's mother Alisa McMorris wrote on Facebook. "So now as the clock strikes midnight on your 14th birthday, Arianna is making you cupcakes and I am wondering if I'll actually be able to sleep tonight. Maybe the new day will bring me solace. Until then, sweet boy. I miss you. Love, Mom."

Her boy, she said, came into the world "fast and furious" at 10:25 a.m. at Southampton Hospital.

The Facebook gathering was planned to give the many who loved Andrew a chance to wish him a happy birthday online while still following social distancing guidelines due to the new coronavirus.

"This is not the weekend we had planned," Alisa said. "But let's be real. This is not the 546 days we had planned. We are learning how to take each day as it comes."

His gravestone was designed with a cross inside a heart, surrounded by hibiscus, the Hawaiian flowers Andrew loved, and the words, "Your wings were ready but our hearts were not."

Also on his birthday, a new date was scheduled for the Andrew McMorris Memorial Walkathon and 5K Run; the event which was postponed due to coronavirus, has been rescheduled for Friday, November 27, 2020.

“It was with great sadness that The Andrew McMorris Walkathon and 5K Run had to be postponed as it would have been an amazing way to pay tribute to Andrew around his birthday," his parents said. "The health and safety of all the participants is our number one priority, and we pray that this pandemic around the world and here at home will soon resolve. We look forward to walking with one and all on Friday, November 27, 2020 to help us raise money to finish the McMorris Lodge at the Baiting Hollow Scout Camp and support the Andrew McMorris Foundation. Thank you to everyone who signed up and for your continued support of this event. Stay healthy and safe."

The objective of the Andrew McMorris Walkathon and 5K Run remains: To raise the funds needed to complete the McMorris lodge, under construction at Baiting Hollow Scout Camp in memory of Andrew; to donate, click here.

"The lives of his family, friends, community and fellow Scouters were forever changed by Andrew’s loss," event organizers said.