Police in Burlington have charged a man with second degree murder after a fatal car accident that allegedly occurred while he was driving under the influence along South Church Street on Sunday.
Oscar Enrique Ramirez-Amaya, of 215-B North Marshall Street in Graham, was reportedly heading east in a Ford F-150 at about 9:00 p.m. when he failed to stop for a red light at South Church Street’s intersection with East Webb Avenue.
According to the city’s police department, Ramirez-Amaya’s pickup collided with a Nissan Rogue that had stopped at the light, sending both vehicles careening into a light pole and a cement wall before they at last came to rest on an embankment. The force of the collision reportedly killed the Rogue’s driver – a 44-year-old woman who was later declared dead at an area hospital. Also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries were Ramirez-Amaya and the Rogue’s 17-year-old passenger.
Since the collision, the police department has filed multiple charges against Ramirez-Amaya – the most serious of which is a felony count of second-degree murder. The 23-year-old suspect is also accused of driving while impaired, simple marijuana possession, driving with an open container of alcohol, careless and reckless driving, exceeding the posted speed limit, driving without a license, and failing to stop at a red light. Ramirez-Amaya has been placed under a bond of $200,000 since his arrest.
