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The boys 10-year-old sister was allegedly a passanger in the car when the tragedy happened.
A late-night drive in a small Texas city ended in tragedy, after a mother allowed her underage son to take the wheel, leading to a fatal collision.
Erika Martinez-Ramirez was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of endangering a child, according to a press release from the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office.
What happened that night
Prosecutors said that around 1:30 a.m., Martinez-Ramirez handed her car keys to her 14-year-old son and instructed him to take his 10-year-old sister to retrieve clothes from a nearby home.
The teenager, who was allegedly intoxicated, struck a bicyclist identified by KWTX as Dennis Welch, 67.
The vehicle then crashed into a house. Welch died at the scene, while the younger child sustained minor injuries.
Repeated warnings ignored
Officials said the crash followed earlier incidents involving the same teenager driving illegally. On December 12, 2023, police stopped him while he was driving other children in his mother’s car, leading to a citation for Martinez-Ramirez.
Just weeks later, the boy was again behind the wheel when he hit another vehicle and fled. Prosecutors said officers contacted Martinez-Ramirez and “repeated to her that allowing her son to drive was unacceptable.”
Due to the boy’s age, authorities did not release details about any charges against him.
Charges and sentencing
Prosecutors chose not to pursue manslaughter charges, stating there was insufficient evidence to prove the mother knew her son was intoxicated. Instead, they proceeded with the endangering a child charge, which carries the same penalty but is easier to establish in court.
The case was handled by assistant district attorneys Michaelina Yearty and Duncan Widmann, who said: “Parents are rarely prosecuted for crimes committed by their children, but this mother’s actions were so irresponsible and so frequent that both prosecution and a maximum sentence were warranted.”
Sources: McLennan County District Attorney’s Office, KWTX, Law&Crime
