SANTA ANA – A man who was driving with a blood alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit was sentenced today to 16 years and four months in state prison after admitting he hit and killed a 5-year-old boy and seriously injured the boy’s father and six-year-old sister while they were riding bikes with his mother and 7-month-old sister in Garden Grove.
A driver who witnessed the crash followed the driver after he drove away until police stopped him.
Ceferino Ascencion Ramos, 30, of Santa Ana, pleaded guilty to one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, one felony enhancement for fleeing the scene after committing vehicular manslaughter, two felony enhancements of causing great bodily injury or death to multiple victims, two felony enhancements of inflicting great bodily injury, one felony enhancement causing great bodily injury causing comatose or paralysis, one felony count of driving under the influence causing injury, one felony count of driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of .08 or more causing injury, and one felony count of failing to stop at the scene of an accident with injury or death.
On Sunday, July 7, 2024, Angel Ramirez and Angela Hernandez-Mejia were riding e-bikes with their three young children just after 7 p.m. in Garden Grove on Haster near Twintree Lane. Angela was in front with the couple’s 7-month-old daughter being pulled behind in a bike trailer and Angel was pulling a trailer with their 5-year-old son, Jacob, and 6-year-old daughter inside.
A witness saw the family riding on the right side of the road as Ramos drove into all five members of the family before he drove away. The witness called police and followed Ramos until police could catch up to them and arrest him. Ramos had a blood alcohol content of .22 nearly three times the legal limit of .08.
Angel was in a coma after he suffered a fractured skull and a brain bleed and just recently underwent another surgery. Their six-year-old daughter was in critical condition after undergoing surgery. The little girl turned seven years old the day after the collision. Angela and the couple’s 7-month-old suffered minor injuries.
Jacob’s older sister, now 8, who was critically injured in the crash gave a victim impact statement in court on Friday, grieving the loss of her only brother who loved Paw Patrol, playing with his daddy, and who wanted to grow up to be a police officer. “I love Jacob so much. I don’t know why you killed him away from me,” she said. “He’s in heaven now.”
“An eight-year-old little girl shouldn’t have to stand up in court and tell the man who killed her little brother how much she misses him because her little brother should still be alive, playing with his daddy,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “They were just riding their bikes, enjoying a hot summer day, and a stranger robbed them of Jacob because the next beer was more important than the life of a five-year-old.”
Senior Deputy District Attorney Devin Campbell of the Homicide Unit prosecuted this case.
Editor’s Note: It is not known if Ramos was in this country legally.