Fox 26 News reports that a DUI crash killed a woman and injured three children in Fresno County. The accident occurred last Tuesday at approximately 5:14 p.m. on E. Adams Avenue between S. Alta Avenue and S. Pederson Avenue.
CHP reports that 61-year-old Manuel Ramirez Jr. was behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Jetta and veered into oncoming traffic. He collided head-on with a Jeep Cherokee driven by a 28-year-old female.
One of Ramirez’s passengers, identified only as a 30-year-old female, was killed in the collision. Three children were in Ramirez’s car as well, aged 4, 3, and 2. All sustained major injuries and were rushed to the hospital.
The driver of the Jeep only sustained minor injuries in the crash.
CHP determined that Ramirez was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the crash. He was arrested for felony DUI, gross vehicular manslaughter, and child endangerment.
Ramirez suffered from major, though non-life-threatening injuries. Once released from the hospital, he will be booked into the Fresno County Jail.
California takes all DUI charges seriously. That said, the majority of DUI charges are misdemeanors. There are only a few ways that a DUI can be a felony. The first way a DUI can become a felony is if it is the fourth DUI offense within 10 years. The next way that a DUI can become a felony is if there are serious injuries involved with a DUI accident. If there have been previous felony DUI charges, the DUI charges can be prosecuted as a felony. The last way that a DUI charge could become a felony is if there is a death involved in a DUI-related traffic accident.
