The man accused of crashing into an Amish buggy and killing three children will not face criminal charges, prosecutors have announced.<\/p>\n
Ronald Ramsey, now 84, hit the buggy carrying four children between the ages of 6 and 13, on Sept. 18, 2019, on Vermontville Highway in Eaton County. Three children died at the scene.<\/p>\n
The Eaton County Prosecutor\u2019s Office decided not to press charges against Ramsey. The decision was made after talking with the children\u2019s parents,\u00a0a news release from the prosecutor\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe decision to not charge Ronald Ramsey for the crash is not a statement about his criminal culpability, rather a decision that charging him would not be likely to result in any additional sanction or punishment,\u201d the release said.<\/p>\n
There was enough probable cause to charge Ramsey with three misdemeanor counts of moving violation causing death, which carries a maximum of one year in jail, two years of probation and the suspension of driving privileges for a year, the release said.<\/p>\n
However, Ramsey\u2019s age, lack of criminal history and\u00a0the COVID-19 pandemic\u00a0made it unlikely for him to be incarcerated if he was convicted.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a complete analysis of the case and possible consequences, the conclusion was reached that formal charging and conviction of Ramsey was not likely to accomplish more than a conviction on paper,\u201d the release said. \u201cThe ends of justice would not be advanced by such a prosecution; therefore, the decision was made to close the case without formal charges.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramsey had a hearing with the Secretary of State after the crash. His driving privileges were suspended for a year, and then followed by an indefinite suspension. If he wants to restore his license, he must pass a vision exam, written knowledge test and road test after the initial year-long suspension, the release said.<\/p>\n
An investigation into the crash showed the Amish siblings were traveling home from school when Ramsey hit them from behind in a Chevrolet Equinox. The buggy was properly marked with a slow moving vehicle triangle and lights and one child was wearing a reflective safety vest as they steered the buggy down the correct side of the road.<\/p>\n
Ramsey was driving 60 mph in a 55-mph zone and told investigators he did not see the buggy until the crash during a clear weather day, the release said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The man accused of crashing into an Amish buggy and killing three children will not face criminal charges,…\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n