A St. Paul man was sentenced Tuesday to a year at the Ramsey County Correctional Facility for fatally striking a motorcyclist with his car while high on marijuana.
Eric Ellington cried during the sentencing, asking the family of Kevin Patterson of Maplewood to forgive him.
“I am genuinely sorry,” he said. “I accept any and all responsibility.”
Ellington pleaded guilty in May to hitting the motorcycle Patterson was driving May 1, 2020 as Patterson waited in a line of cars at an intersection in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood in St Paul. The 42-year-old father of four was thrown from his motorcycle and found unconscious in the roadway. He suffered severe head trauma and died two weeks later when he was taken off life support.
Ellington admitted that he had smoked marijuana before driving. Police recovered two jars of marijuana in the car and an open bottle of alcohol behind the driver’s seat.
He was originally charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide. The second count was dismissed.
Ellington told police that he did not realize the cars had come to a stop. Investigators found that at no point did he slow down or appear to brake before the collision. His car came to rest on top of the motorcycle.
Patterson’s sister Danielle Durkins took issue with Ellington’s lawyer characterizing the crash as an accident.
“I disagree,” she said. “I feel like it was a choice. Mr. Ellington made the choice to impair himself. He made the choice…
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A St. Paul man was sentenced Tuesday to a year at the Ramsey County Correctional Facility for fatally striking a motorcyclist with his car while high on marijuana.
Eric Ellington cried during the sentencing, asking the family of Kevin Patterson of Maplewood to forgive him.
“I am genuinely sorry,” he said. “I accept any and all responsibility.”
Ellington pleaded guilty in May to hitting the motorcycle Patterson was driving May 1, 2020 as Patterson waited in a line of cars at an intersection in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood in St Paul. The 42-year-old father of four was thrown from his motorcycle and found unconscious in the roadway. He suffered severe head trauma and died two weeks later when he was taken off life support.
Ellington admitted that he had smoked marijuana before driving. Police recovered two jars of marijuana in the car and an open bottle of alcohol behind the driver’s seat.
He was originally charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide. The second count was dismissed.
Ellington told police that he did not realize the cars had come to a stop. Investigators found that at no point did he slow down or appear to brake before the collision. His car came to rest on top of the motorcycle.
Patterson’s sister Danielle Durkins took issue with Ellington’s lawyer characterizing the crash as an accident.
“I disagree,” she said. “I feel like it was a choice. Mr. Ellington made the choice to impair himself. He made the choice…
