Montgomery County, Md., man sentenced in vehicular manslaughter crash of Virginia man

A Rockville, Md., man was sentenced to five years in state prison on Monday after pleading guilty to grossly negligent vehicular manslaughter for the death of his passenger in a Hagerstown crash about 4 1/2 years ago.

Prosecutors said Ruben Antonio Molina Ramirez, now 28, was driving drunk and speeding around 1:05 a.m. on Jan. 17, 2019, when the car he was driving crashed into a concrete retaining wall by the Sheetz near downtown.

Ramirez's passenger, Cesar "Junior" Elias Mejia Jr., 24, of Woodbridge, Va., died after he was taken to Meritus Medical Center east of Hagerstown, city police have said.

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Assistant State's Attorney Cyrus Jaghoory told Washington County Circuit Court Judge Joseph S. Michael that if the case had gone to trial, he would have introduced evidence that Ramirez had a blood-alcohol content of 0.21%.

In Maryland, a person with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% is presumed to be under the influence.

Jaghoory said the Hagerstown Police investigation found the car was traveling at 86 mph 3.5 seconds before the crash and at 44 mph when it struck the retaining wall between Sheetz and a neighboring auto parts store.

The posted speed limit for that stretch of East Washington Street, also known as U.S. 40, is 25 mph.

Michael sentenced Ramirez to 10 years in state prison, with all but five years suspended. He has 195 days credit for time served at the Washington County Detention Center since he was arrested in January on a warrant issued in May 2019.

Michael also ordered Ramirez, once released, to be on probation for three years with the first two to be supervised. Ramirez is to undergo testing for drugs and alcohol use and seek treatment if recommended.

A jury trial was scheduled to begin Monday, but instead the plea hearing was held.

Ramirez pleaded to the top charge. Other charges, including ones related to homicide by driving under the influence, were dismissed as part of the plea deal.

After the hearing, lead defense attorney Esteban Gergely said he plans to file for a sentence reduction. He said he believes Michael will consider the filing "thoughtfully" if Ramirez's behavior in prison deserves it.

Defendant had been drinking at hotel, bar before crash

Jaghoory said Ramirez and Mejia — plumbers — returned to a Dual Highway hotel after work and Ramirez began drinking alcohol. The drinking continued at a downtown Hagerstown bar.

Presumably they were on their way back to the hotel when the Honda slammed into the concrete retaining wall with such force it left an impression of the car's grill in the concrete, Jaghoory said.

Police and Community Rescue Service tried life-saving measures on Mejia, but he eventually died, Jaghoory said.

The prosecutor said police reported a strong odor of alcohol in the car, Jaghoory said. Ramirez was combative while people tried to help him at the scene and at Meritus Medical Center.

Where has drunk driver been the past four years?

Mejia's sisters said they looked for Ramirez every day, using social media, during the four years between the crash and when he was arrested in January on the warrant.

Gergely said when Ramirez was released from the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore he was practically immobile. A family member drove him to Florida. There, the wife of a family member — a nurse — spent two years taking care of Ramirez, he said.

Gergely said he didn't want Mejia's family thinking Ramirez "snatched" Mejia's life and than ran. Ramirez also was in a coma for a couple days.

"If none of these three people had been intoxicated that night, this could have been prevented," Gergely told the judge. In addition to Ramirez and Mejia, Gergely mentioned the pair had been drinking at the hotel with a family member of Mejia's who did not stop Mejia from getting in the car with Ramirez.

"Everyone was impairing their judgement that day," Gergely said.

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Parents should teach their children not to drink to this level, Gergely said. When they do they could end up driving, getting in a car with someone impaired or letting a friend get into a car.

Gergely said Ramirez and his girlfriend called attorneys to see if there was a warrant out for Ramirez and were told there was nothing showing up on the court case search website.

That was bad advice. The indictment was sealed so it didn't appear on case search.

Ramirez was arrested in January at a car dealership. Gergely said he wasn't sure if someone at the dealership did something with Ramirez's license that resulted in police showing up at the dealership.

Gergely said it was his understanding Ramirez hasn't had any alcohol since the crash.

Judge cites speed in vehicular manslaughter sentencing

Citing the plea deal, the judge said the state asked for 10 years with five years suspended.

Gergely said that is above the sentencing guidelines of three months to four years.

The sentencing guidelines are not mandatory and are an average of similarly rated criminal offenses across Maryland.

Gergely asked Michael not to exceed the guidelines and to consider the circumstances and that Ramirez didn't have a significant prior record.

"Fueling the fire," the judge said, was the car's speed. Michael said it easily could have been crowded at the gas pumps and the business is a common place for people to congregate.

Looking at a diagram the prosecution provided, Michael said the car hit the wall about 30 to 40 feet from the road.

"It just says how far he missed the road," Michael said.

East Washington Street goes uphill to the Cannon Avenue intersection where the Sheetz sits, with the road curving left at that intersection. It appears that a car continuing straight at that intersection could end up hitting the retaining wall at the far end of the Sheetz parking lot.

Michael also said Ramirez and Mejia could have walked from the bar to the hotel.

Judge hears from drunk driver, families of Ramirez and Mejia

Mejia's sisters and mother shared their grief and the lasting effects of Mejia's death on the family.

Ramirez's girlfriend told the judge she saw the pain her boyfriend suffered when he learned Mejia had died.

Ramirez told Michael he made a terrible decision to drive drunk that night.

Turning to Mejia's family in the gallery, Ramirez asked for forgiveness and mercy.

"I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt ..." Ramirez said.

He said he'd been in a coma, had multiple surgeries, spent years in bed recovering from the crash and learned to walk again. He said he can't run, bend or ride a bicycle.

Ramirez said he will live with the consequences and learn from his mistakes.

"If there was any way I could take back that night, I would do it in a heartbeat," Ramirez said. He said he would switch places with Mejia if he could.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Rockville man was driving drunk, speeding in Hagerstown fatal crash