Romero sentenced for negligent homicide and hit-and-run

A driver involved in a fatal accident was sentenced last week by Judge Chuck West.
Kenneth Romero, 36, pled guilty on March 3rd to the amended charges of Negligent Homicide and Hit-and-Run. On May 10th, he received a sentence of three and a half years hard labor with the Department of Corrections and was placed on five years active supervised probation on the charge of Negligent Homicide.
He was also sentenced to serve eight years at hard labor with the Department of Corrections with three years suspended and was placed on five years active supervised probation on the charge of Hit-and-Run.
Judge West also imposed a fine of $2500.00 on both charges with all sentences, fines, and periods of probation to run concurrently with each other with credit for time served. The Court as special conditions of probation ordered the defendant to abstain from alcohol and abide by all general conditions of probation.
Romero was driving his 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 pick-up truck on Highway 104 as he was leaving The Holiday on Saturday, October 19, 2013. When he neared the intersection of Highway 13, he struck a pedestrian Jonathan Ben. The victim was pronounced dead on the scene by Deputy Coroner Ezekial Thomas.
According to a State of Louisiana Uniform Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Report Narrative Supplement obtained from the Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court Office, “Ben sustained injuries on the rear of his left leg, his back, and his left arm.” The report went on to read, “This was consistent with the height of the damage of the truck which ranged from 25 to 43 inches.”
Romero drove the next day to the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office where he reported that he “hit something.” According to the report, he “could not remember because he was very intoxicated at the time he left the Holiday Lounge.” He was then booked for Vehicular Homicide and Felony Hit-and-Run Driving.
Investigators at the scene found and collected evidence that matched up with damage to the right headlight and the right side of the hood on Romero’s truck. “The lens debris from Romero’s truck was located in close proximity to where Ben’s body was found,” the report stated. “The State Police Crime Lab confirmed that debris was from Romero’s truck.”
Investigators also determined Ben had a blood-alcohol level of .26g. No test was conducted on Romero because he did not report to the sheriff’s office until a day after the accident.