Man Pleads Guilty in I-95 Crash that Caused One Death, Other Severe Injuries in Rye

Norwalk, CT resident Jose J. Ramirez, 24, has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated in connection with an Interstate 95 crash in Rye, NY that killed one of his passengers and severely injured another.

Ramirez, of 11 Grandview Ave., Norwalk, pleaded guilty earlier this week, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced Wednesday in a news release.

At about 2:25 a.m. on Feb. 28, 2014 Ramirez was intoxicated and speeding at 90 mph in the 55-mph zone, prosecutors said.

He was driving a 2013 Honda Accord when his vehicle struck a New York State Thruway Authority maintenance truck, Patch previously reported. His car didn’t brake. The truck was parked on the median strip near the entrance ramp from the eastbound-traffic lanes of Interstate 287 to Interstate 95 in Rye. The Honda spun out and smashed into a concrete barrier before coming to rest.

The truck had a lighted construction arrow to warn drivers, prosecutors said. The maintenance truck flipped over, landing on its hood, and its occupant ”sustained numerous serious physical injuries, including torn rotator cuffs of both shoulders requiring surgery and torn ligaments of both knees, requiring surgery,” the news release said.

Ramirez’ front-seat passenger, Kellman Villa-Santos, was found dead at the scene. A back-seat passenger, Emmanuel Gonzalez, received various injuries, including traumatic brain injury, paralysis and loss of memory, prosecutors said.

Ramirez’ blood-alcohol level was determined to be 0.14. He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison at his sentencing, scheduled for Aug. 27.

This article has been updated with additional information from the news release.