Man sentenced in death of man sitting on a bench

A drunk driver who killed a man sitting on a bus bench in Chula Vista was sentenced April 13 to 20 years to life in state prison.

Nicholas Ruben Ramirez, 29, received 15 years to life in state prison for his second-degree murder conviction in the Dec. 4, 2016, death of William Anthony Gerling, 65.

Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Dwayne Moring added five years to the sentence for hit and run in a traffic fatality. Ramirez, of Imperial Beach, received credits for serving 495 days since his arrest the night of the collision.

Ramirez had been drinking at a Chula Vista bar for several hours and his blood/alcohol level was .21, which was nearly three times the legal limit. He left a relative’s car at the scene of the collision near the intersection of Orange Avenue and Third Avenue at 6:46 p.m. and fled.

The Mitsubishi he was driving jumped the curb, struck the bus bench and slammed the bench into a tree. Gerling, whose leg was nearly severed, died as a result of blunt force trauma, said Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright. He suffered a skull fracture and a fracture to his spine.

The jury convicted Ramirez of second-degree murder, hit and run, and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. They deliberated 1 1/2 days before reaching their verdict on Dec. 14, said Bright.

Ramirez apologized to the victim’s family in the audience. The prosecutor read a letter submitted by the victim’s sister-in-law. His vehicle also ruptured a water valve which poured out water for two hours.

Ramirez was twice convicted of drunk driving in 2009, according to court records. He attended an impact panel by Mothers Against Drunk Driving and signed an attendance document in August 2009. A MADD official testified she advised people at that panel that if they drink again and kill someone, they could be charged with murder.

Ramirez returned to the scene with his father and was arrested. He told several officers that he was “5150,” which often means “a mentally disturbed individual.” The California Welfare & Institutions Code 5150 says that persons can be involuntarily held if they appear to be a danger to themselves.

One officer testified that Ramirez didn’t stop at a red light on Orange Avenue and he turned too fast onto Third Avenue, resulting in losing control of the Mitsubishi. A mechanical examination of the vehicle found no defects that would have caused the crash.