The 17-year-old boy from West Scranton who caused a fiery car accident that killed a 22-month-old boy in Ransom Twp. in May could serve as much as eight years and six months in prison after pleading guilty on Monday.
David Ranakoski, currently incarcerated in the Lackawanna County Prison, on Monday pleaded guilty to charges of homicide by motor vehicle, driving under the influence and possession of a small amount of marijuana stemming from the May 9 crash on Dark Region Road that killed toddler Cole Hazelton.
As he sped along Dark Region Road, Mr. Ranakoski was smoking a blunt - or, a cigar filled with marijuana - with four friends in the car when his Ford Focus careened into the rear end of a Jeep Cherokee driven by the infant's mother, Ashley Hazelton, 21, with the child's father, Andrew Carullo, 25, in the passenger seat and Cole in the backseat, according to the complaint.
The crash caused the Jeep to explode and, despite his mother's efforts to pull him from the burning vehicle, Cole died from carbon monoxide poisoning and burns, an autopsy later determined.
A test of Mr. Ranakoski's blood later revealed the presence of cannabinoids, according to the complaint.
On Monday, Mr. Ranakoski appeared before Lackawanna County Judge Vito P. Geroulo and pleaded guilty to homicide by motor vehicle, possession of a small amount of marijuana and driving under the influence.
The homicide charge and the drug charge each carry maximum sentences of seven years and one year in prison, respectively, while only the driving under the influence charge actually carries a mandatory minimum sentence - 72 hours.
Had Mr. Ranakoski been charged with homicide by motor vehicle while driving under the influence, that charge would have carried a minimum sentence of three years incarceration, said Deputy District Attorney Robert Klein, who is prosecuting the case.
While the lack of that charge against Mr. Ranakoski raised the ire of the victim's family gathered in court Monday afternoon, Mr. Klein said authorities could not have levied it against Mr. Ranakoski because there was not definitive evidence that showed impairment actually caused the crash.
While Mr. Ranakoski was driving under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash, there was no way for authorities to definitively prove that any resultant impairment caused the crash that killed Cole, Mr. Klein said.
"We have to prove that that amount (of cannabinoids in Mr. Ranakoski's system) was the nexus for that death and we don't have that," Mr. Klein said.
Judge Geroulo deferred Mr. Ranakoski's sentencing pending a pre-sentence investigation by the Lackawanna County Probation and Parole.
Contact the writer: domalley@timesshamrock.com
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