VISTA, Calif. (CNS) — A man charged with driving drunk and slamming a car into a traffic pole in Carlsbad, resulting in his wife's death, was convicted Thursday of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and other charges, but jurors were unable to reach a verdict on a second-degree murder count.
Santos Hernandez Ramos, 39, of San Marcos, is charged in the Sept. 15, 2019, crash that killed 41-year-old Cecilia Ramos.
Ramos' license was suspended at the time due to a 2017 DUI conviction out of San Bernardino County, which led prosecutors to file the murder charge against him.
While jurors found Ramos guilty of manslaughter and DUI counts, they hung on the murder count, with jurors voting 11 to 1 to convict. Ramos also previously pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of driving while his license was suspended and driving without a license.
He is due back in court next month, at which time the case might proceed on the murder count.
At Ramos' preliminary hearing earlier this year, Carlsbad police officer Jeff Wolf testified that the crash at the intersection of Aviara Parkway and Cobblestone Road left the car nearly split in half. A witness estimated the vehicle was traveling around 80 mph prior to the crash.
Wolf testified that two blood draws taken shortly after the crash showed Ramos had a blood-alcohol level ranging from .15 to .16 -- about double the legal limit of .08. The officer also testified that a beer bottle was found in the center console of the vehicle.
