BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Cheektowaga woman will spend the next 3 1/3 to 10 years in prison for a fatal crash.
Alondra L. Ramirez-Santiago, 25, of Cheektowaga was sentenced Monday in court. She pleaded guilty to one count of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide and one count of Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree in July.
Ramirez-Santiago was driving south on Transit Road between Cloverleaf Drive and Rehm Road in the Town of Cheektowaga on February 26, 2024, when she crashed into another vehicle. Investigators say Ramirez-Santiago was under the influence of alcohol, speeding, and driving without headlines when she crashed.
The driver of the other vehicle, Jennifer Hylkema, 51, of Lockport died a short time after the crash. Her son, who was a passenger in the vehicle was treated and release from the hospital.
Hylkema's husband, Chris, spoke before sentencing. He said, "We're just a simple family. It was all about our children. It was all about each other raising our children to be right, to be good and responsible, and I can't believe I'm standing here having to give the statement because she's gone."
"The fear and the terror of that night just continues to play out in my head over and over and over again.," he said. "And then it'll never go away not knowing where Jen and Charlie were. Not being able to call them or contact them. Finally realizing where they were going to the hospital. Having no idea, no idea what we were walking. We had no idea. Charlie finally got a hold of me."
"I was so relieved to hear his voice, but he all he kept saying was just get here, just get here. I knew something was just unbelievably terribly wrong."
Ramirez-Santiago's attorney also read a statement from her in court prior to sentencing. "Well, I know there are no words that can ever make your family complete again. It is with a broken heart that I turn to you to apologize for my innermost self, for my actions, the actions which have hurt you so much. My family and I keep you and Jennifer and your entire family in our prayers every day," she said. "And so it will be until the last day of my life that I beg God to forgive me because of my ignorance. I ended the life of a mother, a daughter, a sister, a teacher and a friend. I have also asked God to give strength to your family and to help you find peace."
Jennifer Hylkema was a special education teacher at the Stanley G. Falk School for 25 years.
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