A North Texas man will spend the next decade behind bars following a street racing crash that claimed the lives of three people in 2022.
Nelson Ramirez, 21, heard from the victims’ family members before taking the stand himself to ask for leniency. Ramirez was 19 when he crashed into another car in River Oaks at what police said was an “extremely high rate of speed.”
Now, two years later, he stood before a judge to hear what his punishment would be.
First though, family and friends of victims Cindy Griffin, Madison Lake, and Bishop Kline took the stand. Kline’s mother, Effie-Sue Bates Kelly, told the court she hasn’t been the same since losing her son.
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“It’s devastated us. We’re still trying to cope with it,” said Kelly. “He was my best friend just like all my children are.”
Kelly said she learned Ramirez’s defense planned to ask for probation and felt that was unacceptable.
“Three people are dead. I mean, they’re dead, in a box,” she said.
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Cindy Griffin’s father described the traumatic scene the night of the crash.
“How do you describe how you feel when you look over there and you see a white sheet covering a body? And you see another one over here that’s being worked on,” Griffin said.
Ramirez took the stand in his own defense to make a case for probation instead of jail time.
“I’m no longer that old Nelson the day of the accident,” he said. “And I believe in my heart that I’m a changed man, and I want to become better.”
After testimony and seeing video of the scene that night, the judge decided Ramirez would spend time behind bars.
He’s been sentenced to 10 years confinement on each count of manslaughter and racing on a highway causing serious bodily injury. All six sentences will run concurrently.
