Driver Gets 9 Years In Kenneth Lesser’s Death



The Kings Park driver who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter of Kenneth Lesser was sentenced Friday morning to three to nine years in prison, in accordance with a prior plea agreement.

Hauppauge Board of Education Trustee Patricia Lesser said she hoped the sentence in her husband's death would serve a lesson.

"Nothing that happens here today will bring Ken back to us. But what I hope today's proceedings will do is show the community of Suffolk County that if you drink, drive and take a life you will spend time in prison," Patricia said. 

Rodrigo Ramirez-Vega, 27, pled guilty to drinking on Aug. 19, 2009, the night he sped through a red light driving a 2006 Ford Econoline work truck south on Harned Road in Commack. He collided into a 2007 Toyota minivan being driven east on New Highway by Ken, on his way to pick up his daughter from the library. Police said Ken was killed instantly impact.

"If my brother had died of disease, I can accept that. That my brother died from a lack of judgment and a lack of remorse, I'm having a hard time accepting that," said Paul Lesser.

Friends and family of Kenneth Lesser packed Riverhead courtrooms to share emotional testimony of their loss of a brother, husband, and prominent member of Hauppauge's athletic community.

Chris Messina, coach of Hauppauge's varsity wrestling team, brought a large framed photo of Ken draped with a wrestling medal as he spoke about his team's biggest fan. Ken was a sideline fixture at wrestling matches and a supporter of Long Island Wrestling Association.

"He was a far better man than I, as he would have forgiven you by now. I'm still having a hard time," Messina said.

Several Hauppauge Board of Education members attended the sentencing to support Patricia, who was at a board meeting when she got news of her husband's death. Patricia said the penalty imposed on Ramirez-Vegas did not matter, but made a request.

"You will be sentenced to some time in prison. It doesn't matter to my children or me the length of time," she said. "What matters is how you choose to live your life from this point forward.

Ramirez-Vega had recently immigrated to the United States from Paraguay in hopes of building a better life for his family before the accident. After hearing the victim statements, he asked for their forgiveness.

"Anything I do say will never be able to return the life back. I wish to beg forgiveness from the victim's family and his wife. I beg forgiveness from the deepest part of my heart," Ramirez-Vega said, translated by a Spanish interpreter.

His attorney, Howard Schwartz, called the accident a tragedy for all involved.

"It was not a crime of intention. It was a crime of stupid decisions. He came here to pursue a dream which is shattered, just like their family is shattered," Schwartz said.