SMETHPORT — Darian Ramdin was sentenced Thursday in McKean County Court to four to eight years in state prison for a July crash in Bradford that killed a man and injured a juvenile.
Ramdin, 19, of Congress Street, will also serve three years of consecutive probation on charges including homicide by vehicle while DUI, aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI and fleeing from police.
District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer said the crash was on July 16, on East Main Street in Bradford. Wallace Easton was killed in the crash and a juvenile female suffered serious injury. Both were passengers in the Ramdin vehicle.
At the time of the crash, Ramdin had been out on bail for a charge of delivery of marijuana.
Easton’s mother spoke at sentencing, explaining her son’s organs were donated and, in that way, he lives on, Shaffer said. Ramdin read a statement to the court prior to sentencing.
He was sentenced by Judge John H. Pavlock.
According to the criminal complaint, at about 2 a.m. July 16, state police stopped a Jeep driven by Ramdin at the Crosby at the intersection of East Main Street and Derrick Road, because the Jeep had its high-beam headlights on and a headlight was out. Troopers noted that Ramdin was uncooperative, refusing to provide his driver’s license or get out of the vehicle. Ramdin asked several times why police wanted him to get out of the Jeep, and a trooper told him he could smell marijuana. Ramdin rolled his window up, with a trooper on each side of the Jeep, and attempted to show his license from the center of the Jeep. The trooper told him that wasn’t going to work, and the second trooper began walking around behind the Jeep to the driver’s side, at which point Ramdin took off, fleeing the scene.
The troopers began chasing him south on East Main Street, where the Jeep reached about 85 mph approaching the big turn just past Hawthorne Avenue before going out of control, sliding across the double yellow line, rotating 45 degrees, entering the northbound lane and striking a tree and a utility pole, causing disabling and heavy damage to the Jeep, the complaint stated. The entire chase was 0.8 miles in length.
The two passengers in the Jeep, a 17-year-old female and Easton, 21, were flown from the crash scene by medical helicopter. Easton, who was flown to UPMC Hamot, died July 24 from injuries suffered in the crash.
The juvenile female, who told police she was Ramdin’s girlfriend, suffered a broken collarbone as a result of the crash, according to the criminal complaint. She told police Ramdin had fled from police because he was “out on bond,” the complaint stated.
Ramdin was taken to Bradford Regional Medical Center. Troopers suspected he was under the influence because of the odor of marijuana in the Jeep, and suspected drugs, drug paraphernalia and empty alcohol containers found inside the vehicle during a warranted search, the complaint stated.
Ramdin’s blood was tested, and Shaffer’s amended complaint noted his blood alcohol content was .096 percent; the legal limit is .08 percent. Tests also showed THC in his system.
