Crime & Safety
Driver Gets Probation, 180 Days in Jail for Misdemeanor Vehicular Manslaughter in Ramona
Garrett Michael Sparks, 20, pleaded guilty last month to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
A Lakeside resident who caused a head-on crash that killed a 74-year-old man in Ramona last summer was sentenced today to probation and 180 days in jail.
Garrett Michael Sparks, 20, pleaded guilty last month to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Sparks was arrested shortly after the Aug. 29 collision, which occurred on San Vicente Road south of Warnock Drive about 7:40 p.m.
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Sparks told authorities he took his eyes off the road for at least 10 seconds while he was reaching for items that had fallen onto his truck's floorboard from the passenger seat, according to the California Highway Patrol.
His southbound 2007 Ford Ranger drifted into oncoming traffic while traveling about 50 mph and stuck a northbound 2000 Ford Ranger driven by Kenneth Frederick Crane of Ramona.
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Crane was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple blunt-force injuries. Sparks escaped injury.
Investigators determined alcohol was not a factor in the crash.
—City News Service
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