Ex-Navy sailor gets 10 years for wrong-way fatal DUI crash
A former Navy sailor who drove drunk and the wrong way on Interstate 8 in Point Loma, crashing head-on into another vehicle and killing its driver, was sentenced today to 10 years in state prison.
Eric Ramos Cortez, 27, was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for the Dec. 20, 2021, crash that killed 54-year-old Sarah Lombardi. Ramos was facing a murder charge at trial, but jurors acquitted him of that count.
Prosecutors say Ramos had a .18 blood-alcohol level -- more than twice the legal driving limit in California -- when his vehicle slammed into Lombardi's car on the freeway, just east of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard at about 11:30 p.m. At the time, Ramos' SUV was heading east on the westbound side of Interstate 8.
Lombardi, who left behind a husband and teenage son, was driving home from her job at Kansas City Barbeque in downtown San Diego when the crash occurred.
Deputy District Attorney Hailey Williams said at Wednesday's sentencing hearing that Ramos refused multiple offers from acquaintances to sleep over to avoid driving while intoxicated. The prosecutor said the maximum prison term of 10 years was warranted due to repeated safety training Ramos received in the military that warned of the dangers of drunk driving, including one such safety briefing he attended three days before the fatal crash.
Defense attorney Jay Monico said the training his client received did not provide much more extensive knowledge of the consequences of drunk driving than the average civilian.
Monico argued at trial that what happened was ``a tragic accident'' and ``a case of gross vehicular manslaughter, but not murder.''
Monico argued Wednesday for probation and said Ramos was ``extremely remorseful'' and determined to warn others of the dangers of drinking and driving.
Ramos apologized to the Lombardi family in court Wednesday "for the heartache I've caused you."
He said, "I wish I could take back my actions from that night every single day. I understand my apology won't bring back a mother, a sister, a daughter, and a wife."
