Murray Hurt in Auto Crash

While driving to see his son play in a youth hockey tournament in Wisconsin, King Coach Andy Murray was involved in a single-car accident early Friday morning and suffered four broken ribs and a possible shoulder separation.

“I was fortunate that I had my seat belt on or I wouldn’t have made it,� said Murray, who had returned to his family’s home in Faribault, Minn., once the NHL’s Winter Olympic break began Thursday.

Murray left Faribault at 4 a.m. Friday and two hours later his truck slid and rolled off an icy road down an embankment 300 feet from a highway in Sparta, Wis.

“The roads were pretty good at first and I was just driving along for a couple of hours when all of the sudden, I came along this patch of ice,� Murray said. “My truck hit the ice and there wasn’t any bite at all [with the tires] and I started weaving from side to side. I then hit this embankment where it dropped down and I thought I was gone. People driving behind me said that they thought I rolled four or five times.�

Murray had to kick open a window to free himself from the truck.

“Fortunately, I was by myself,� said Murray, 50, whose Kings are in sixth place in the Western Conference with 65 points.

“I think I was conscious the whole time. I remember the truck starting to roll over the first time and then everything happened really fast. I knew I had to get out of the truck.�

After being held in a Sparta hospital for most of the day, Murray was picked up by his wife, Ruth, who drove him back to Minnesota Friday night.

“I didn’t know that anyone had seen me,� Murray said. “One of the truck drivers did and they brought an ambulance to bring me into town. My shoulder is real sore and they don’t know what is wrong. I’m going to see another doctor where I live. I’m going to get it checked out.�

Murray is in his third season with the Kings and has a 104-79-40 record.

Before joining the Kings, Murray coached the Canadian national team from 1996-98, leading them to the gold medal in the 1997 world hockey championships.

During the 1998-99 season, Murray split time as head coach for Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, where he led the prep school to a 70-9-2 record and the midget triple-A U.S. hockey national championship, and as general manager at Koln of the German Hockey League.

The Kings, who do not play again until Feb. 26 at Columbus, will start a four-day mini-camp Feb. 21 at their El Segundo practice facility.

You can expect Murray to be there.

“I know that I’m pretty fortunate,� Murray said. “I’ll be back in L.A. on Wednesday. I’m going to be a little sore, but I’m fine.�