A drunk driver apologized on July 17 to a Point Loma family for causing a mother’s death and then the judge sentenced him to 10 years in state prison.
Eric Deangelo Ramos Cortez, now 27, apologized “for the heartache I caused” in the 2021 death of Sarah Lombardi, 53, when his Subaru Outback collided head-on with Lombardi’s vehicle on Interstate 8 when he was driving the wrong way.
Her husband, Danny Lombardi, and his father were in the audience along with other family members. The couple also had a teen-age son, Jonathan, who was 16 years old at the time.
“I will forever re-live the (actions of that night. I will forever live with these consequences,” said Ramos. “I no longer have the desire to consume alcohol.”
“I pledge to become the information to my (Navy) community…to use my situation of what can happen if one drinks and drives,” said Ramos.
Deputy District Attorney Hailey Williams urged San Diego Superior Court Judge Evan Kirvin to impose a 10-year prison term as it “would secure some measure of justice” to the community.
Williams said Ramos consumed 9 alcoholic drinks that day and night of the 11:30 p.m. crash on Dec. 20, 2021. His blood/alcohol level was .18, which is twice the level of felony drunk driving. She noted he had a ride-share app on his phone, but he didn’t use it.
“He never used his brakes,” said Williams.
Williams read a letter aloud from the victim’s husband to the judge, noting Sarah Lombardi “was a loving wife, a patient person.” She was driving home from working at Kansas City Barbecue, a downtown restaurant where she had worked for 26 years.
Ramos had been in the Navy for two years as an electrician and his attorney, Jay Monaco, said he had received a letter from Navy officials telling him his career had ended as a result of his felony conviction.
Monaco said Ramos is willing “to spread awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving” after he is paroled. He initially asked for probation or a 90-day prison study, or at most a 6-year term.
“He is a person who can be saved,” said Monaco, urging the judge not to impose 10 years because “he might become hardened” with that sentence “as a constant reminder” of his crime.
Ramos had been charged with second-degree murder, but the jury acquitted him of that charge on March 5 when they convicted him of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Monaco said the seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated “six hours and 24 minutes” over two days before reaching their verdicts. Had Ramos been convicted of second-degree murder and received a life sentence, he might not have been paroled until his 40s or 50s.
Ramos has married his longtime girlfriend while in jail, and she attended the sentencing. The judge gave him credit for serving 1,008 days in jail since his arrest. He was fined $3,070.
Ramos’ guilty plea to gross vehicular manslaughter in 2023 was voided when it was discovered that two boxes were mistakenly checked on a plea form that involved reduced credits. No one noticed the mistake, and Ramos got a new attorney and demanded a jury trial.
