SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man who was driving with a blood alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit has been charged with driving under the influence and hit and run for seriously injuring a mother and father and their three young children, including their five-year-old son who remains in a coma without brain activity, as they were riding their bikes on a Garden Grove street Sunday, according to the OCDA.
A driver who witnessed the crash followed the driver after he drove away until police stopped him.
Ceferino Ascencion Ramos, 29, of Santa Ana, has been charged with one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, one felony count of driving with blood alcohol of .08% or more causing bodily injury, one felony count of hit and run with permanent injury or death, and one felony count of hit and run with injury.
Ramos has also been in charged with two felony enhancements for causing brain injury and paralysis and one felony enhancement of great bodily injury. He faces a maximum sentence of 11 years if convicted on all charges. The charges may be upgraded if the conditions of the injured worsen.
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 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 remains in a coma after he suffered a fractured skull and a brain bleed. Their five-year-old son remains in a coma without any brain activity and their six-year-old daughter remains 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 but are expected to survive.
“Instead of blowing out her birthday candles, a little girl spent her seventh birthday in the hospital fighting for her life the day after being run over along with her entire family by a drunk driver,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “They were just riding their bikes, enjoying a hot summer day, and now that little girl, her brother, and their dad are just hoping to make it to her next birthday. This is a tragedy that should have never happened, but it did because of the selfish decision by a stranger to get behind the wheel drunk. We are praying for Angel and for their two children to make miraculous recoveries and to be able to celebrate many, many more birthdays the way birthdays should be celebrated and not in hospital beds.”
Senior Deputy District Attorney Devin Campbell of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
