A Memphis man has been ordered to serve 14 years in prison for killing a young Good Samaritan who stopped to help at a roadside crash, then was struck while she was on the phone with 911.
Michael King was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide by intoxication in the death of Halie Jade Heron Ramirez, who pulled over in 2023 to check on people involved in a wreck. Prosecutors say Ramirez was on the line with emergency dispatchers when King’s truck hit, and she later died from her injuries. Under Tennessee law, the judge ruled that King must serve the entire 14-year term.
Guilty plea and sentence
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office said King entered a guilty plea to vehicular homicide by intoxication and received a 14-year prison sentence with no early release built into the term, according to Action News 5.
Crash details and toxicology
Prosecutors say the deadly collision happened on May 28, 2023, on Lamar Avenue near the Tennessee-Mississippi state line. King’s pickup hit a disabled vehicle as Ramirez was checking on the people inside, according to a bulletin from the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.
Investigators reported finding alcoholic beverage containers at the scene. A blood sample taken from King more than six hours after the crash showed a .053 blood alcohol concentration and the presence of methamphetamine. The same bulletin notes that Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft rejected a defense motion to throw out the toxicology results, according to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.
Local context
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office has been pushing more aggressive prosecutions in deadly driving cases this year, and recent guilty pleas suggest they are pursuing substantial prison time when roadway deaths are involved. In a separate case, a hit-and-run that killed a University of Memphis student led to a guilty plea and prison sentence earlier this year, as reported by Action News 5.
King’s plea deal, paired with the requirement that he serve every year of his sentence, underscores how local prosecutors are currently handling fatal DUI cases in Shelby County.
