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Jonathan Ramos, 29, of Philadelphia pleaded guilty in July to leaving the scene of a fatal accident as well as traffic summonses for speeding and driving with a suspended license, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina. Ramos was sentenced Wednesday by Superior Court Judge Philip E. Haines.
A co-defendant, Brandon Moore, 24, also of Philadelphia, ,pleaded guilty in September to vehicular homicide and assault by auto, Coffina said. is scheduled to be sentenced next month. During that proceeding, Moore acknowledged causing the fatal crash after losing control of his vehicle while driving aggressively and pursuing the Jeep Grand Cherokee being driven by Ramos, the prosecutor said.
Moore reportedly reached a top speed of 112 mph, and Ramos at one point reached 106 mph, Coffina said. The posted speed on the bridge is 45 mph.
An investigation began on Dec. 28, 2020, when the Burlington County Bridge Commission Police Department responded to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge on a report of a multi-vehicle crash.
Upon arrival, they foiund a heavily damaged Honda Civic and discovered that the driver had been killed by the collision, Coffina said. The decedent was identified as Gerardo Francisco Perez Martinez, 35, of Camden, according to the prosecutor.
The investigation found that Ramos and Moore were separately driving west toward the bridge and, after exiting the toll booth, began speeding across the span without regard for the safety of other motorists, Coffina said.
Bridge surveillance video and witness statements concluded that Moore, who was driving a 2018 Dodge Charger, struck the passenger side of Ramos’s 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which forced his vehicle into another lane and led to the fatal collision with Martinez, Coffina said.
Multiple other motorists were taken to Cooper University Medical Center in Camden for treatment, he said.
After the collision, Ramos allegedly exited his vehicle and walked away from the crash scene, Coffina said. He allegedly asked another motorist to call his cell phone because he was unable to locate it in the wreckage, the prosecutor said. Police later recovered Ramos’s phone inside the vehicle he was driving, Coffina said.
Moore and Ramos are being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Josh Dennis, supervisor of the BCPO Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit.
The investigation was conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office, the Burlington County Bridge Commission Police Department and the Cinnaminson Township Police Department. The lead investigators were BCPO Detective Jack Bowker, BCBCPD Detective Sergeant Brian Laudenslager and CTPD Detective Kevin Bohn.
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