A second driver who says he quit a drag race before a passenger in the other vehicle was killed in Chula Vista has pleaded to driving under the influence of alcohol with injury and engaging in an illegal speed contest.
Nicholas Daniel Nesbitt, 23, of Chula Vista, will be sentenced Aug. 18 and faces up to two years in prison for the Oct. 8, 2016, death of Sergio Isai Ramirez, 22, of Inglewood, Ca.
Ramirez was a passenger in the black BMW that was driven by Jose Molina Ramirez, 23, who is not related to his passenger. Jose Ramirez, who is also from Chula Vista, pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Jose Ramirez also pleaded guilty to DUI causing injury to a second passenger and engaging in a speed contest with Nesbitt. Ramirez was sentenced April 28 to one year in jail on terms of five years probation. The projected release date is Nov. 1, according to the sheriff’s department. Ramirez is serving his term in the East Mesa Detention Facility.
Nesbitt had been free on $100,000 bond, but he was taken into custody June 29 at Chula Vista Superior Court after a judge heard testimony that he may have violated conditions of his release.
On Monday, Nesbitt’s attorney, Gloria Collins, said Nesbitt tested positive for drug use after he attended a large rock concert. Collins said she argued that his court ordered SCRAM device became exposed to drugs at the concert which caused a positive result and it was not because he used drugs himself.
Collins said she will be asking for probation, especially since the passenger was killed in the other driver’s car and he received probation. “He didn’t cause any injury because of his driving,” said Collins. She said the victim was a good friend of both Nesbitt and Ramirez.
Judge Francis Devaney will sentence Nesbitt as he presided over his preliminary hearing on March 8. Devaney also sentenced Ramirez.
Collins said Nesbitt quit the drag race with Ramirez because he thought it was too dangerous. Jose Ramirez continued to drive fast on East H Street near Corral Canyon Road at 12:33 a.m. and struck two Magnolia trees. His BMW continued into the opposing lane and hit a pole on the sidewalk. The Magnolia trees were broken in half after Ramirez struck them.
Deputy District Attorney Laura Evans said both drivers were at fault, saying the race was “a proximate cause” of the crash. A Chula Vista police officer said Nesbitt told him he dropped out of the race and slowed down because he had been drinking alcohol earlier. The victim was not wearing a seat belt and was in the back seat.
