A local man has been criminally charged in connection with a fatal motor vehicle collision in which high speed and alcohol both played a factor, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Plainfield Police Director Lisa Burgess jointly announced Wednesday.
Mike A. Ramos, 25, of Plainfield is charged with a single count of second-degree vehicular manslaughter.
At approximately 4:50 a.m. on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, members of the Plainfield Police Department responded to the intersection of Clinton Avenue and West Fourth Street and found that a two-vehicle collision involving a Toyota Camry being driven by 39-year-old Akwasi Boateng and a GMC Yukon SUV being driven by Ramos had just taken place, according to Union County Homicide Task Force Supervisor and Assistant Prosecutor Scott M. Peterson, who is prosecuting the case.
Boateng, a resident of Middlesex Borough, sustained multiple serious injuries as a result of the collision and was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An investigation led by Plainfield Police Department Detective John Franklin and assisted by Prosecutor’s Office Detective Richard Acosta determined that Ramos had consumed alcohol, had just run two red lights, and was traveling at speeds of over 70 miles per hour in a 25-mph zone immediately before colliding with Boateng’s vehicle.
Ramos was arrested without incident on Saturday, March 27 and lodged in the Union County Jail pending a detention hearing scheduled to take place in Union County Superior Court tomorrow, Thursday, April 1.
Convictions on second-degree charges are commonly punishable by terms of 5 to 10 years in state prison.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.