Three Shattered Families
Drunk driver sentenced to 15 years in prison.
By Bonnie Hobbs/The Connection
Friday, December 23, 2011
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=356871&paper=81&cat=104
It was a tragedy all around.
From the back of the courtroom, a 4-year-old boy with dark, curly hair whispered, "Papa, Papa" to the man about to be sentenced for severely injuring two people and killing another while driving drunk.
The child’s mother cried while describing what a good husband and father Carlos Sanchez-Ramos was. But so did the daughter of Paul Krause, the 54-year-old Fairfax Station man who lost his life because of the mid-March crash.
"The upcoming holidays will be hard because my dad will be missing," said Christina Krause. "Father’s Day will be spent talking to a tombstone."
And when all was said and done, last Friday, Dec. 16, in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Sanchez-Ramos, of Springfield, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for aggravated involuntary manslaughter, two counts of hit-and-run, child endangerment, second DWI offense in five years and driving on a revoked license.
THE INCIDENT occurred March 14, 2011. Krause was driving a 2010 Ford Fusion north on Richmond Highway when Sanchez-Ramos — driving a 1994 Honda Civic in the same direction — lost control of his car. His vehicle crashed into the Fusion, forcing it into the southbound lanes and head-on into a 2010 Mercedes-Benz containing an Alexandria couple in their 70s.
Police responded to the scene around 5:22 p.m., and Krause died later that night at Inova Fairfax Hospital. The Mercedes occupants, Anita and Robert Hood, sustained injuries, but survived.
Meanwhile, Sanchez-Ramos took his then 3-year-old son from his car and fled on foot. But police captured him nearby, and the boy — who was not injured — was safely returned to his mother. Sanchez-Ramos was charged with several offenses and held in jail on an ICE detainer, as well.
On Aug. 15, he pleaded guilty to everything, returning to court last Friday for sentencing. At the outset, his wife, Reina Carolina-Sanchez, spoke on his behalf. Saying they’d been together eight years, she told the court, "He is my husband, my other half. It’s a good relationship and we have a beautiful family."
Sobbing uncontrollably, she said, "The day this horrible accident happened, my family was destroyed. My life and my son’s life have been shattered. I know there’s another family who’s suffered a lot, but I and my family have been affected, too. I’ve lost my family overnight; my son asks why Daddy doesn’t come and pick him up from day care. I don’t know what to tell him, anymore."
Carolina-Sanchez called her husband a good person, adding, "I don’t know what happened that day. I apologize to everyone affected by this. I know my husband deserves punishment for his mistake; but, Your Honor, I ask you not to separate my son from his father for a long time. He also has a daughter, 11, in Honduras."
Testifying next was Anita Hood, who suffered broken hips and damaged knees in the accident. In a voice barely audible, she explained that the crash also injured her throat. She runs her own business, but said this injury affects her ability to do her job because she has to speak so softly over the phone.
Walking gingerly to the stand, her husband Robert Donald Hood said he sustained a broken foot in the crash, a damaged ankle and a smashed lower leg, which is permanently crippled. "I can’t walk or stand more than five or 10 minutes," he said. "Our life has been completely disrupted."
He’d recently retired and had extensive, overseas travel plans, but is now unable to travel to veterans’ conventions, as he used to do. He also prided himself on being able to take care of his home. Now, said Hood, "I can’t do everything for myself. I have to rely on others to do jobs around the house, and I can’t drive. I’m totally frustrated because I can no longer do the things I did before the accident."
"The strongest man I know was forced to become a sedentary person," said his eldest son, Robert. "He can’t play on the floor anymore with his 6-year-old grandson. My brother and I now have to spend time tending to our parents’ financial affairs and maintaining their house. My father was the rock. I wasn’t prepared to be the family’s head [so soon], but now I am."
Previously, said his brother Kenneth, "Whatever you needed, you’d call the old man and he’d do it. He can’t do it anymore. Mother was very social, attending many nighttime functions; but now, she won’t drive at night. My wife has MS, so I take care of her, plus my parents and their property. So the accident disrupted my life, as well."
THEN PAUL KRAUSE’S BROTHER Tom told the court Paul had "three beautiful daughters, and his marriage of 27 years to his wife Suki was a true love story. He was all in for his family. He and I were close, growing up, and never had an argument. He was a true, gentle, kind man."
Crying, Krause said, "[Paul] served his country — 22 years in the U.S. Army. He was right on the edge of retiring, having three weddings and traveling. His wife is inconsolable; she comes home every day to an empty house. There’s nothing I can do to make this go away for her."
Saying there’s "no greater pain" than losing a loved one, Krause said, "I can’t sleep at night. He was my big brother and I looked up to him; I enjoyed just the simple pleasure of calling him after a football or baseball game to talk about it. He was a great man and I miss him."
Next to testify was Christina Krause. "March 14, 2011, at 7:44 p.m., my dad was taken from us and my life was shattered forever," she said. "When the doctor told me he was gone, I couldn’t accept it. I screamed at him to go back in and save him."
She said her father was a decorated Army officer who retired as a lieutenant colonel. Her parents met in South Korea when he was stationed there. As both she and her mother wept, Krause said, "He promised her he’d love her and take care of her forever. My mom left her family and all she knew behind, and he kept his promise to her."
Krause said her father checked his children’s homework, helped them apply for college and cheered at their Tae Kwon Do tournaments. "He taught me to act responsibly and with integrity and that hard work paid off," she said. "Many nights, I’ve cried myself to sleep — and I’ll have a broken heart forever. But I’d go through this all over again if it meant keeping my dad here with me."
She spoke to her father on his birthday, just nine days before his death, and he gave her some advice. "He said now should be one of the best times of my life," said Krause. "He told me to reconnect with my mom and to travel and experience all the world has to offer. I told him I loved him, and that was the last thing I ever said to him."
But instead of having the happy times her father envisioned for her, after he died, her days were filled with grief. As the eldest daughter, she said, "I delivered the news to my family that my dad was killed by a drunk driver. I gathered his personal belongings from his demolished car and made funeral arrangements. This is not the best time of my life, as he told me — it’s the darkest."
Krause said she no longer has the drive to pursue a master’s degree because he’s not here to advise her. "I can’t envision my wedding or family because my dad won’t be walking me down the aisle or playing with his grandchildren," she said. "His life was stolen from him by this man who endangered his own child and ran from the scene."
"I know my dad’s in heaven, but I believe his soul hurts," she continued. "On the day of his burial, when there were rainstorms and thunder, I believe it was my dad crying. Your Honor, give us a sense of justice and make sure Sanchez-Ramos never does to another family what he did to ours."
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Laura Riddlebarger told Judge Leslie Alden that, the day of the accident, Sanchez-Ramos "started drinking at noon and spent the afternoon drinking. By his own estimate, he had at least 10 beers."
Furthermore, she said, "He shouldn’t even have been in the U.S. He was previously deported and re-entered the country illegally. And it wasn’t the first time he drove intoxicated. Even worse, with a blood-alcohol content of .20 [nearly three times the legal limit], he picked up his son and then drove recklessly, weaving from lane to lane."
Then, said Riddlebarger, after the crash, "Instead of stopping and giving aid, he ran. There’s no justification and no excuse."
Defense attorney Robert Harris said Sanchez-Ramos is 34, but only had six years of school and worked as an auto mechanic and construction worker. He told the judge, "This is a tragedy, but don’t lock him up and throw away the key."
THE DEFENDANT then stood and apologized for his "bad decision" and for causing so much pain. Via a Spanish-language interpreter, he said, "If I could change places with Mr. Krause, I’d do it. I never wanted to do something like this. To both families, I ask, please forgive me. I am so sorry."
Saying he’s "really repentant," Sanchez-Ramos said, "From now on, I will only try to do good. This will be with me for the rest of my life. Please have mercy on me; I made a terrible mistake. I won’t ever drink again."
Alden then sentenced him to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter charge and one year each for the five other charges, running the sentences consecutively for 15 years total. She also fined him $250 for the DWI and suspended his Virginia driver’s license for three years. She further ordered him to pay the costs to prosecute his case and placed him on 20 years probation, if he remains in the U.S. after his release.
Addressing him directly, the judge told Sanchez-Ramos, "It’s a tragedy you’ve brought to the Krauses, Hoods and your own family — and all of it because you were drunk."