Drunk Driver Who Killed Fulbright Scholar Sentenced
HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) - A Bloomington man pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of criminal vehicular homicide for a crash that killed a Richfield woman.
The Dakota County Attorney's Office says 26-year-old Neftali Paolo Ramirez admitted to drinking before the fatal crash in Burnsville on March 8 that killed Erin Randall, 34.
You can get the sense of the worldly impact that Randall made in her shortened 34 years of life. A former Fulbright Scholar, she committed herself to helping others around the world.
Michael Dorsher was a mentor to Randall while serving on the Fulbright board.
"Her friends and family are terribly distraught and haunted by this," he said.
Ramirez appeared for his sentencing Wednesday after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide in Randall's death.
His blood alcohol level was .262 immediately after the crash – more than three times the state's legal limit for operating a motor vehicle.
"Erin was sitting at a stoplight waiting for it to turn, when he came through at over 80 miles an hour," Dorsher said.
Before sentencing, sisters and friends of Randall read emotional, heartbreaking impact statements. One of them implored the judge that Randall's death not be meaningless. Her older sister, Laura Pezan, asked for a sentence that promotes change.
Tears continued in the courtroom, filled with family and friends of both involved, as Ramirez broke down, saying his "negligence, selfishness and stupidity has prevented all the good that Erin could have done in the world."
"His words to me were he expresses the deepest sympathy for the family," longtime friend, Cody Olynyk said. "His message is disappointment that he let friends and family down -- something that should have been avoided."
"She had no chance," Michael Dorsher said. "Now he has every chance to regain his life."
The state wanted Ramirez to serve 48 months in prison -- the state's recommended sentencing guideline.
But Judge Christopher Lehman ordered Ramirez to serve one year in the Dakota County jail, time that will be served over the next five years.
He will immediately begin serving 120 days, followed by 120 days on March 8, 2016, on the anniversary of the drunk driving crash.
Ramirez returns to jail for 30 days on each March 8 anniversary of Randall's death, in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
In addition, he is ordered to serve 150 hours of community service -- probably with anti-drunk driving outreach -- and remain on probation for 10 years.