The Jury is Out in Rob Ramage Trial
October 10, 2007 by Jeanne Dupuis
Filed under News, Players
I try not to be a judgmental person but I hate hearing a case like this where the defendant pleads “not guilty.” If you were drinking and driving (especially if you killed someone), have the balls to admit to what you did and face the music. The family of the person who was killed will have to deal with the fall out for the rest of their lives and, if you were drunk driving, you should suffer too! Gawd! Even Nicole Richie plead guilty!
A dozen jurors spent Tuesday in deliberation at the trial of former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Rob Ramage in Newmarket, Ont.
The jury of eight men and four women remain sequestered in a hotel.
Deliberation was expected to commence last Thursday, but was delayed until Tuesday by Justice Alexander Sosna, who wanted to consider a pressing legal issue.
Ramage, 48, pleaded not guilty Sept. 11 to charges stemming from a fatal auto collision on Dec. 15, 2003.
More after the jump!
Ramage underwent surgery for a dislocated hip after the rented Chrysler Intrepid he allegedly was driving veered into traffic and struck two vehicles near Vaughan, Ont., just north of Toronto.
Keith Magnuson, a passenger in the Intrepid, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Magnuson, a former defenceman who spent his entire 11-year pro career with the Chicago Blackhawks, was 56.
Michelle Pacheco, whose SUV collided with Ramage’s vehicle, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while both occupants of a third car involved in the crash were uninjured.
Ramage was charged with impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, two counts of dangerous driving causing death, and having a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit.
A York police report alleged that Ramage and Magnuson were headed to a players’ alumni meeting after attending the funeral of former NHL forward and union executive Keith McCreary, who died of cancer at age 63 on Dec. 9, 2003.
Ramage posted 139 goals and 564 points with 2,224 penalty minutes in 1,044 NHL games after being drafted first overall by the Colorado Rockies in 1979.
The London, Ont., native played for the Rockies, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Minnesota North Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and Maple Leafs, which he captained from 1989-91.
Tags: rob ramage, accident, drunk driving, killed
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No excuse for that.