Driver Gets Manslaughter, Avoids Serious Charges
Posted on Dec 13, 2010 4:05pm PST
The Associated Press from New York has reported that a drunk driver has been convicted of manslaughter, but was cleared of more serious charges, for an accident that resulted in the death of a pregnant woman and her unborn child, near the Empire State Building on March 27, 2009.
Keston Brown, a 28 year-old construction van driver, received his verdict in a Manhattan courtroom. He faces up to 15 years in prison for manslaughter, as opposed to 25 for a more serious charge. He is due for sentencing on January 10.
Brown, allegedly distracted and drunk per prosecutors, veered onto the sidewalk during rush hour and into Ysemny Ramos, 29. Both Ramos, and her unborn child, were killed. A friend, walking alongside the pregnant woman, was hurt but survived her injuries.
District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said, "That this devastating crash could have been prevented makes this case infuriating, not tragic."
Prosecutors contended that while Brown's passenger, who was also a co-worker of his, whistled from the van at women on the street, Brown tried to accommodate his demands to slow down or speed up. They also stated that Brown's alcohol level was above the legal driving limit and that impairment caused him to have trouble maneuvering the 20 year-old van.
Of almost 12 charges to review, jurors found Brown guilty of DUI, assault and manslaughter - a count that involved him recklessly causing a death. The jurors acquitted him on aggravated vehicular homicide and other, less serious, charges.
The aggravated vehicular homicide charge requires that the offender cause a death and seriously injure another person.
Brown's lawyer, Patrick Watts, said of the verdict that jurors "decided based on what they thought was the evidence."
Brown testified that he had three beers and a Cognac after work that day, and, approximately within one hour of the crash. He further claimed that it was the engine's abrupt failure that caused the fatal accident. He tried to restart the van and steer it, but he claimed that he just couldn't stop it. He told the jury that all he could do was warn the traffic ahead, "The vehicle was going toward the sidewalk, so I pressed the horn, and that's when the accident happened."
Brown wasn't hurt when his car reared up onto the curb, but a graphic video taken by a building superintendent at the architecture firm where Ramos' worked, showed her body torn in two.
The film was shown to the jurors.
Brown is a married man with six children. He was an auto mechanic in a former career and, an Army Veteran.
Ramos was a mother of two. She was headed home to celebrate her wedding anniversary. Her husband declined to make any comment.
If you are facing criminal charges for a DUI related accident, contact a criminal defense lawyer from our directory to help you with your case.
